A-Z Database
To say that someone is no oil painting means that he or she is not very attractive. A British colloquialism from the late 19th/early 20th century.
The source is the Bible, Isaiah, 48:22, “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.”
see Pay the price
In the sense of undoubtedly, dates from the mid-1400s.
In the sense of accountability or explanation not required, dates from the mid-19th century.
When one thinks about it, this is an odd construction of words frequently used to describe someone who has no respect for anybody. It is in fact a dir...
This phrase is used to express a lack of good sense or reasonableness and dates from 1664, according to the OED.
see Swing a cat
No room to swing a cat' or 'not enough room to swing a cat' are metaphors used to describe a small, cramped space or a crowd of people crammed togethe...
It means that something makes no difference or does not matter and dates from the early 20th century. It is of American origin, allegedly from the spo...
An old English proverb that uses the analogy of smoke and fire to mean that there is always an underlying cause for any event or situation. It dates f...
see Spring chicken
See Leave no stone unturned
No-man's-land is first cited in 1086 in the Domesday Book where it appears as 'none man's land', which describes a piece of wasteland that belongs to...
Nob is slang for head and dates, according to the OED, from the year 1700. The etymology is obscure but 'nob' is still used today in the British card...