A-Z Database
see Nothing to write home about
A metaphor for a sign or clear indication of imminent failure or disaster. The original writing on the wall comes from the Bible, Daniel 5:22, and was...
From the 16th century onwards, this expression, the wrong or short end of the stick meant getting the worst end of a deal or bargain and it was not un...
To get up on the wrong side of the bed is wake up in a bad mood and the expression in this form dates from the late 18th/early 19th century. The conce...
This is an American expression from the 1920s for the poorer or lower class part of town. The allusion is to the railroads that eventually ran into ev...
An American slang expression for a weak, ineffectual person dates from the 1960s. Probably derives from earlier slang ‘pussy wussy’ or ‘wussy’ meaning...
The letter x has several meanings besides being the 24th letter of the alphabet. On its own and usually as a capital letter, X is the letter of the Gr...
This expression defines the location of something, usually on a map or diagram. It was used by Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island (1883) where...
X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation first discovered by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895. He called them X rays after th...
Never mind the TV talent show that borrowed the term in the early 21st century, and defined the x-factor as that special quality that leads to stardom...
see X
see X
Most people in a current generation might believe this is the proprietary name of an internet services provider. They are, of course, absolutely right...
Outside of America, Yankee and its contraction Yank are terms generally applied to all Americans. Within America, however, Yankee refers only to Ameri...
see Spin a yarn