A-Z Database
A tirade is a protracted verbal rant or rave; a long and vehement speech laced with invective. The OED gives a first citation as 1801. It derives from...
Tit meaning a female breast is one of the oldest slang words in the language and dates from the 11th century, from Old Germanic/Anglo-Saxon roots. The...
This expression means like for like as in retaliation or reciprocation. There are two theories about its origin. Some sources maintain that it is a co...
In the 16th century, it would have been written as ‘tyd bit’ where ‘tyd’ was a dialectical word meaning soft or tender. By the 17th century, the spell...
This common word for a small person dates from the 1930s and has a fascinating origin. It derives from a popular musical hall performer in Britain, Ha...
British rhyming slang for hat, tit for tat/hat, dates from c. 1930, a blending of ‘tit for’ the first two words of tit for tat.
see Belly-up
see To a T
This expression meaning idle talk or chatter, snitching or telling tales dates from the early 16th century. Shakespeare uses the word tattle in Titus...
As in ‘to get in a tizz or tizzy’ or to be in ‘all of a tizz or tizzy’ is originally an American colloquialism meaning to be in a dither or a state of...
see By/to/within a hair’s breadth
To a T meaning exactness or precision dates from the late 17th century but the origin is uncertain. Some sources maintain that it derives from the mea...
see Loggerheads
see Cleft stick
see Fine fettle