A-Z Database

A-Z Database

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Sword of Damocles

If someone says the sword of Damocles is hanging over them or that something or other is hanging over them like the sword of Damocles, it means that s...

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Swords into ploughshares

To beat or turn swords into ploughshares is to take up peaceful pursuits instead of war; the source is the Bible Isaiah 2:4, “They shall beat their sw...

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Swounds

see zounds


Syphilis

Most people have heard of this sexually transmitted disease but relatively few know that the word was coined in 1530 by an Italian physician and poet,...

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Syrup

Rhyming slang for wig, from syrup of fig/wig, or syrup of figs/wigs, dates from the mid-20th century and has since evolved into a ‘golden syrup’ which...

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