A-Z Database
see Pass the buck
This American expression means to go against or fail to imply with a system or trend. It dates from the early 20th century and derives from buck in th...
To buck up can mean various things depending on the context. It can mean to cheer up or it can mean to hurry up, get a move on, or improve one’s statu...
A list of things to do, places to see before one dies. The expression originated in America during the early 21st century and was popularised by the 2...
Buckle up as a phrase dates from the early 1500s, and until swords were generally discarded as weapons of war during the 19th century, it meant 'prepa...
Buckshee meaning gratis, free or for nothing is the modern variant, dating from c.1916, of the original baksheesh, which dates from the early 17th cen...
Bug as a general name for an insect dates from the 1600s. Bug as an obsession, in expressions like “bitten by a bug” for something or other, dates fro...
Bug off, meaning to go away, get lost, or leave quickly, is American English that dates from the mid-20th century. Probably derives from the British E...
A fear or sometimes an annoyance dates from the late 16th century when it was first used in English folklore to control fractious children at bedtime....
Bugger, on its own, or as in 'bugger me' is a mild British expletive of annoyance or surprise that dates in this sense from the mid-20th century. 'I'm...
This is originally an American metaphor, dating from the late 19th century, which means ‘invent the next great thing or come up with a better idea’. I...
see Castles in Spain/in the air
This American slang expression from the early 20th century has spread around the English-speaking world. It was originally a derogatory description fo...
Bull meaning to deceive dates from the 1500s and is thought to derive from the Old French boler or bouler meaning to deceive. It has nothing whatsoeve...
Rhyming slang for a row, bull and cow/row, dates from the mid-19th century and is still in use.