A-Z Database
British slang from the late 19th century for a police informer as in ‘a copper’s nark’. The OED gives its origin as the Romany word, nak, meaning nose...
see Piece of work
Once considered slang but is now Standard English for smart or spruce, as in nattily dressed. It dates from the late 18th century and has etymological...
The nature of the beast is an expression that refers to the usually undesirable inherent or essential quality or character of a person, thing, event,...
Now part of Standard English (in Britain at least) navvy is an abbreviation of navigator and is first attested from the early 19th century. These days...
Elite special operations unit of the US Navy founded in 1961. SEAL is an acronym for SEa, Air and Land.
A primitive species of man, which was first discovered in 1856 in the Neanderthal Valley in Germany.
Language or behaviour that borders on the indecent is sometimes described as a bit close to the bone or knuckle. The 'bone' version dates from the mid...
As neat as a new pin dates from the 18th century and refers to the large, ornamental pins that women used to wear in their hair.
The supposition that needfulness or compulsion drives creativity is an anonymous Latin proverb from ancient Roman times and probably before. The origi...
Neck and crop means ‘completely, totally or comprehensively’ and dates from the 18th century. It was originally used to describe a comprehensive and s...
Meaning a specific location is of American origin, dating from the early 19th century when many Americans lived in woodland areas and so it meant in t...
Describes a contest so close that the winner cannot be predicted with certainty; dates from the late 18th century in relation to horseracing but figur...
To neck or to indulge in necking is to embrace and kiss intimately and is originally an American expression first recorded in the early 19th century.
Trying to find a needle in a haystack describes a well-nigh impossible task and first appears in this form during the 1700s. Before this, during the 1...