A-Z Database
A form of celebration when two men, usually in a sporting context, bump their chests together. It dates from the early 21st century and is thought to...
A chestnut meaning a venerable old joke or story is from the late 19th century and is thought to have originated in America despite its first appearan...
see Pull chestnuts out of the fire
see Bite/chew one’s arm/hand off
Idle talk or chatter that first appears as a British military expression for grumbling or complaining during the late 19th century. It was very quickl...
Stylish, fashionable, dates from the mid-19th century, derives from the French chic, which originally meant smart rather than stylish, but it has now...
Chick has been a term of endearment for a child for centuries, from at least the late 1400s. It became popular again in America during the 1920s and s...
Describes a genre of movies made specifically to appeal to young women, an Americanism that dates from the late 1980s. See also Flick.
Chicken or chicken-hearted has been a metaphor for cowardice since the early 1600s and derives from the timid and submissive behaviour of chickens.
American informal for a paltry sum of money dates from c. 1840 and derives from the low cost of chicken food.
To refrain from doing something out of fear, an Americanism first cited from the 1940s. See also Chicken
The complete expression is, ‘curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost’ and there is evidence to suggest that the simile between...
Person in charge of all operations, usually of a menial nature, dates from the mid-19th century. One of the earliest citations is a photograph of a co...
Is something that is very easy to accomplish, dates from at least the 14th century where it is used by Chaucer in The Merchant’s Tale c. 1387. “It is...
American informal meaning to relax or take it easy dates from the 1980s and derives from the very much earlier cool, which is Jazz argot from the 1930...