A-Z Database
The expression is of course figurative in the sense that when something rings a bell it awakens a memory. Most etymological sources maintain this expr...
A rip-off is a swindle or an over-charge and is an Americanism from c.1967 but ‘to rip’ meaning to steal or rob was earlier American slang from the la...
A well-worn expression where old age is described as ripe i.e. having reached full maturity, is one of the oldest clichés in the English language dati...
Ripper is a modern Australian colloquialism (c. 1970s) for something excellent or exceptional. Derives from the earlier English slang expression, ripp...
Originally, the North American version of snorter, meaning something extraordinary, striking or spectacular. But why 'rip'? 'Rip' was added to snorter...
The metaphor of time as a river was coined by Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) Meditations IV, “Time is a sort of river of passing events.”
The concept behind this proverb meaning that good intentions on their own are not enough to avoid trouble or even damnation, is very old, but is thoug...
Means take from one and give to another but its origin remains a mystery. The story that funds were taken from the parish of St Peter, Westminster Abb...
This was originally an African-American expression often used in music lyrics, especially blues, from about 1934 onwards. In this context, it meant se...
This is an American colloquial expression from the mid-19th century, used figuratively to mean the lowest possible depth that a state of affairs can s...
To do or say something that causes a problem or stirs up trouble dates from the early 20th century and derives from the obvious allusion to upsetting...
British informal for to arrive, often unannounced or unexpectedly. Dates from the 1960s and derives from rock ‘n roll in the sense that it replaced ro...
see Off one’s rocker
In its current figurative sense, rocket science has come to signify something that is difficult or hard to understand. It is often used in the negativ...
Something that is very rare or scarce, American slang dates from the 1970s.