Idiom Origins - Idioms

A-Z Database

Meanings and origins of thousands of idioms, curious words, and slang.

A-Z Database

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To be on one’s mettle

see On one’s mettle

To be someone’s cup of tea

see Cup of tea

To boldly go where no man has gone before

This is the catchphrase from the television and movie series Star Trek, which first aired in 1966. This expression has been in quite widespread use si...

To boot

To boot is one of the oldest expressions in the language and is still used today meaning ‘in addition to’, ‘moreover’ or ‘as well’. It dates from late...

To come a cropper

To experience a serious misfortune and dates from the mid-19th century when it was first used to describe a heavy fall from a horse. It derives from t...

To crow about something

see Something to crow about

To egg someone on

see Egg someone on

To err is human; to forgive, divine

This famous proverb is attributed to Alexander Pope and is a direct quotation from his Essay on Criticism written in 1709. Pope did not coin the words...

To fear, fear itself

see Fear itself

To have no price

see Pay the price

To have the wood on or over someone

see Have the wood over or on someone

To kill with kindness

see Kill with kindness

To the bone

To the bone means to the very extremity, to affect something or someone in a deep and penetrating way dates from at least the 1400s, from the allusion...

To the nines

see Dressed to the nines

To-die-for

This popular American hyperbole dates from the late 20th century and means that something is so amazing that it is worth dying for. For example, this...

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