A-Z Database
In the form of ‘like a rat up drainpipe’, a simile that means with great speed, originated in Australia during the 1960s but soon became popular in Br...
Rat-arsed is one of myriad slang terms for being drunk. This one is of recent origin, from the 1990s. Sometimes also appears as pissed as a rat.
This is a modern form of Tinker’s cuss and dates from the late 20th century. The expression, not to give a rat’s arse (ass) means that one could not c...
This is a modern form of Tinker’s cuss and dates probably from WWII, and it's probably American as in 'I don't give a rat's ass', which means 'I don't...
Mild insult, usually directed at someone who is cheeky but affable. The origin is Australian with the allusion to a rat catcher’s bag but was soon app...
Traditionally, since the mid-17 century, ships’ speeds were always calculated in knots, and originally a rate of knots was simply a term for the speed...
Frequently encountered in South African English, this expression means bits and pieces or insignificant detail as in “I have finished the bulk of the...
see Rat
see Razzle-dazzle
An echoic, rhyming compound based on the word dazzle. Razzle-dazzle is originally an American expression and dates from c.1890 but it had soon crossed...
To boot or re-boot a computer means to start or re-start it and dates from around 1975. Boot is in fact short for bootstrap, which is a fixed sequence...
Means to discern a meaning that is not obvious or explicit, dates from the early 19th century and derives from a simple form of cryptography where the...
These days, to read somebody the riot act is to scold or warn them to modify their behaviour and this figurative usage and meaning dates from the earl...
Ready money means cash money and dates from the early 18th century. It was coined by William Somerville in 1727 in his poem Ready Money “Tis ready mon...
The genuine article derives in America from Kid ‘The Real’ McCoy (real name Norman Selby) welterweight champion from 1898-1900. At first, his fighting...