A-Z Database
Jocular expression for a wealthy person dates from the 17th century.
Street slang for name since the mid-19th century and appears in various spellings, for example, the OED favours monicker, Eric Partridge prefers monak...
British slang for varying amounts of money, from fifty, five hundred to even fifty thousand pounds, presumably because of inflation. It dates from at...
see Have a monkey on one’s back
Describes a task or a mentality that is so basic that even an animal with limited intelligence could accomplish or succeed simply by observing and the...
This expression is frequently in the form of an exclamation of surprise 'Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!' or incredulity 'If you believe that, then I’m...
This meteorological phenomenon occurs when the sun is shining at the same time as a rain shower. It seems, however, that it is only known as a monkey’...
see Not give a monkey’s
Signifies an indeterminate length of time, approximately seven and a half months actually but the expression is never used literally. It dates from th...
The twelve months of the year, as we know them, derive from the Julian calendar named after Julius Caesar who reformed the Roman calendar in 46 BC Jan...
This is a good example of a perfectly respectable word from The Middle Ages evolving into modern slang. From around the mid-1400s, deriving from Old F...
A metaphor for a preposterous impossibility as in, it is like believing that the moon is made of green cheese. Or, one might say after hearing a ridi...
To do a moonlight flit is a British expression that dates from the 19th century and means to abscond, usually under cover of darkness, to avoid paying...
Taking on a second job to supplement one’s income, usually at night, hence the name, dates in this sense from 1957 according to the OED. Earlier but...
Meaning illegally distilled alcohol in America is first attested from the late 19th century. Before this, moonshine meaning foolish or empty talk, is...