A-Z Database
A ruse or ploy so hackneyed that it should not deceive anyone, the expression dates from the early 19th century. Book here is used in the sense of a b...
As in expressions like to extend/offer/give the olive branch, it means to make peace or end conflicts and differences of opinion. The olive branch or...
An ombudsman is an official appointed to investigate complaints from individuals against maladministration by public bodies or authorities. According...
Commonly used acronym these days for Oh my God/goodness/gosh in text messaging and email. OMG was added to the OED in March 2011, along with LOL and F...
To be on a hiding to nothing is one of those ambiguous expressions that can mean one of two things. It can mean a pointless exercise where there is no...
see Out on a limb
see Shoestring
This expression describes a desperate, dire situation where one can only rely on hope and prayer. It was coined by American songwriter, Harold Adamson...
see Stand on hollow/shaky ground
This appears to be a uniquely South African expression, an affirmative response to a question like, “I’m off to the pub, are you on? Response, “I’m on...
see Go on one's merry way
To be or to keep on one's toes means to be ready or alert for some action or purpose. It may derive from foot racing when one toes the starting line a...
To be on one’s beam-end or beam-ends is to be destitute or almost destitute and dates in this figurative sense from the 1830s. The origin is almost ce...
see Jack/Jack Jones
see Last legs