A-Z Database
Coaster as in a small tablemat for drinks or bottles first made its appearance during the 19th century. It derives from the sailing vessel that keeps...
This expression sounds most odd in the context of coat meaning an outer garment, but by the 17th century, a coating had become a layer of any substanc...
Australian slang for a friend or mate dates from the late 19th century and one source says it perhaps derives from Suffolk dialect cob meaning to take...
This expression derives from rhyming slang in the early 20th century, cobblers’ awls/balls, referring to testicles. What a load of cobblers meaning wh...
Slang for the penis since the early 1600s and a term of endearment since the 18th century as in old cock meaning old chap.
To cock a snook at someone or something means to express contempt or derision is generally attested in Britain from the late 19th century. It derives...
Refers to a swaggering, boastful male in the same way a rooster dominates the henhouse. The expression is American from the mid-19th century.
A girl or woman who permits and assumes some intimacies but not coitus dates from the early 19th century. See also prick teaser.
Meaning unbridled joy or exultation, it is first cited for this meaning from the late 17th century, but the origin remains an etymological mystery. Th...
A cock-and-bull story is a far-fetched and unbelievable story, which the townsfolk of Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire will have one believe derives...
Cock-sure means absolutely certain, safe or secure and dates from c. 1520 according to the OED. The origin is uncertain, but the OED hints that it may...
A blunder, mistake, error dates from the early 20th century yet the use of cock remains obscure. The best explanation is that it is simply a variation...
American slang for ridiculous or implausible as in a cockamamie idea is first attested from the 1930s but its origin remains unknown. Etymological att...
The complete expression is knock into a cocked hat or, more rarely, throw into a cocked hat, which means to defeat utterly or to win by a wide margin....
Originally, from the early 19th century it meant squint-eyed. From the late 19th century the meaning evolved into crooked, skew, inaccurate.