A-Z Database
This is an extract from the marriage service in The Book of Common Prayer first published in 1549.
see Tell the truth and shame the devil
Said of a person who when spoken about, suddenly appears by coincidence and dates in this sense from the early 20th century, but it has a long history...
This is an ancient proverb, which extols the value of silence over and above the value of spoken words. The concept, but not the actual expression, ap...
To spend a penny is a polite euphemism for to go to the toilet or use the bathroom, and dates from the time when public toilets were coin operated dur...
This odd expression is based on words that individually have long gone out of use in the language. Spick and span meaning smart, trim, and new dates f...
All these expressions are metaphors for divulging or confessing all and, curiously, are all Americanisms that date from the early 20th century. There...
A metaphor for misfortune from at least the 17th century. See also Cry over spilt milk
As in putting a fresh spin on something. means putting a new interpretation on an event or a state of affairs, dates from the 1980s. See also Spin doc...
To spin a yarn means to tell a story and dates in this sense from the early 19th century. For centuries before this, of course, spinning yarn simply m...
This expression for a professional publicist, usually employed by senior politicians, is from America c. 1984 when it appeared in a New York Times art...
Means that good intentions are often undermined by poor performance, the source is the New Testament Matthew 26:40 “The spirit is indeed willing, but...
Originally a British phrase describing a basic, low class tavern where sawdust was strewn on the floor to soak up both spillages and spitting of patro...
Strictly speaking, 'spitting image' should never appear with this spelling because it is a corruption of 'spit and image'. If the expression is said q...
This well-known phrase describes British foreign policy following the Napoleonic Wars, and during the rest of the 19th century. It was coined by the C...