A-Z Database
We have purposely left the expression unfinished because there are countless ways of finishing the expression, all of which mean 'better than nothing'...
This is an American expression for a difficult choice between two equally adverse options. It is first attested from 1921, allegedly from Arizona, and...
see Between a rock and a hard place
This expression meaning that one is caught in a dilemma or a difficult, no-win predicament dates from the 17th century. The expression is first cited...
The original expression is “between two stools one sits on the ground” and dates from the early 14th century. Falling or sitting between two stools so...
This expression signifying that something is said in confidence is sometimes in the form of “between you, me and the bedpost,” which is not always app...
Betwixt is simply the archaic and largely obsolete from of between and only remains in the language in this expression, which would be nonsense if it...
An abbreviation of beverage, British slang for alcoholic drinks since the late 19th century but popularised again during the 1980s as in “let’s go out...
It is best not to remind one’s Greek friends of this saying, especially at Christmastime. It is, however, a very old saying not widely used these days...
This expression now means beyond the limits of accepted standards and usually refers to behaviour. A pale is a sharpened wooden stake put into the gro...
Shadow in the sense of a trace or vestige dates from the late 1500s. The original, common phrase ‘beyond doubt’ dates from as long ago as the 1300s bu...
see Best bib and tucker
A punch or sharp blow with the fist is originally American from the mid-19th century, probably imitative or echoic.
The dreadful, so-called reality TV show borrowed the first part of this quotation, which is from George Orwell’s famous novel 1984 published in 1948....
This expression with a particularly high cringe factor is American slang for big money or a lot of money as in “he is earning big bucks now”. It dates...