A-Z Database
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This was coined by Shakespeare when Juliet said it to Romeo at the end of Act II, Scene II in Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet c. 1594.
A final word or act delivered just before leaving, dates from the early 19th century and derives from the earlier, literal use of firearms while retre...
A party animal is someone who is always ready to party enthusiastically and for a long time. The expression is American from the 1970s.
A well-rehearsed and often repeated performance of some sort reserved for social gatherings. The OED dates the expression from the early 1960s.
A party pooper is one who spoils or does not join in the festivities and is American slang from the 1940s, related to ‘pooped’, which is also American...
Originally, from the late 15th/early 16th century, pass muster meant to undergo a military review or inspection without censure. From the early 1600s,...
In the sense of to shift blame or responsibility is an American expression dating from the early 20th century. In its literal sense, passing the buck...
To collect money, dates from the late 19th century. For a long time before this, hats were invariably used for impromptu collections of money.
The complete quotation is “The past is foreign country: they do things differently over there.” These are the opening lines of L.P.Hartley’s novel The...
A past master is someone with a particular skill or talent in some endeavour or other. It dates from the mid-18th century and alluded to people who he...
This well-worn phrase was coined by John Milton in Lycidas (1637), “At last he rose and twitched his mantle blue: tomorrow to fresh woods and pastures...
Patent leather is leather or imitation leather that has a high gloss lacquer. The lacquer process was once protected by a US patent and this sort of l...
In the sense of idle talk or chatter dates from the mid-19th century and derives from the much earlier etymological source of pater, an abbreviation o...
This is a misquotation from a once-popular poem by Longfellow The Children’s Hour (1860), “I hear in the chamber above me, the patter of little feet.”