A-Z Database
Blimp was the name given to the barrage balloons of WWI. Thereafter, Colonel Blimp was a character invented by the cartoonist David Low (1891-1963) in...
As used in expressions like blind rage, blind fury etc means reckless, indiscriminate, from literally not seeing and dates from the 14th century. Blin...
A blind alley is the same thing as a cul de sac and is so-called because it has no eye or through passage. It dates from the early 1600s, but its figu...
This expression, based on the misconception that bats are blind, has been around since the early 15th century. Not only do bats see very well but they...
A bend in the road where the view ahead is restricted or obscured, dates from mid-17th century.
So drunk that vision and senses are impaired. The expression has been in use in use since the 17th century. Hence, blind and blinder, which both mean...
A familiar saying the source of which is the New Testament, Matthew 15:14. “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
This well-known children’s game dates from the late 1500s and there is no doubt the original name is ‘blind man’s buff’ and not ‘blind man’s bluff’. T...
Mislead or confuse someone by using big, important-sounding words or complex explanations, dates from the 1930s and is originally of Australian origin...
Blinder as in to play a blinder is to give a blinding or dazzling performance, usually in a sporting context, dates from the early 20th century.
see Blinder
As a verb, used mainly in North America, to blindside someone means to shock, surprise and even deceive them. This figurative usage derives from the s...
Ostentatious, showy and generally poor taste, US black origin from the late 1990s and was popularised by the black American rapper BG, Baby Gangsta. I...
Sometimes in the form of ‘blanking’ a mild form of swearing, possibly a euphemism for bloody; dates from the late 19th century.
As in the expression “blithering idiot” which is a colloquial expression from the late 19th century. Blithering derives from blither, which is a varia...