A-Z Database
British slang for wonderful or terrific dates from the late 1970s; abbreviation of brilliant.
see Take down a peg or two
These expressions have been used figuratively to mean death, demise, the end or the closure of an episode, since medieval times, when curtains divided...
This figurative expression means to be successful or to bring in money or sustenance especially in a family context. It is also a very good example of...
Generate tumultuous applause from an audience, dates from the theatre during the 18th century.
To bring something or matters to a head means to bring them to a crisis point, dates from the mid-16th century and derives from abscesses or boils, wh...
To concentrate on with a specific purpose, dates from the late 1600s, from “bear down on” meaning to stress or focus on something, also of cannon or g...
Force someone to comply, dates from the early 19th century and the allusion is to dog training.
Call to account, bring to justice or reprimand dates from the late 18th/early 19th century and is thought to derive from the allusion to a formal acco...
Slang for a woman’s breasts, derives from rhyming slang, Bristol City/titty and dates from the mid-20th century.
Broach is an old word from The Middle Ages meaning to pierce or thrust through, from the Old French brocher, from which we get the modern culinary ter...
American slang for a woman dates from the early 20th century, perhaps suggestive of a woman’s hips or possibly from the earlier American English expre...
A metaphor for a general as opposed to a detailed approach to any subject or matter derives from the allusion of painting with a broad paint brush and...
Figuratively, to give someone a broadside is to be verbally aggressive, much the same as giving someone a piece of one’s mind. Originally, it is of co...
see Bankrupt, also Go for broke