A-Z Database

A-Z Database

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Bumf

Bumf is an abbreviation of bum-fodder, which is slang for trashy literature and dates from the mid-17th century, from the allusion that trashy literat...

Read More


Bumper

Bumper as in a bumper harvest means abundant or very large and dates from the mid-17th century, when a bumper was specifically a large, brim-full glas...

Read More


Bun in the oven

This expression for pregnancy in this particular wording format is thought to date from only the mid-20th century, where it is cited in Nicholas Monts...

Read More


Bunch of fives

Slang for a fist or punch, from the obvious allusion to the five digits that comprise a fist, dates from the early 19th century.


Bundle

Slang for a lot of money or all the cash that one has on one's person. Originally American from the late 19th century, but soon thereafter adopted thr...

Read More


Bunfight

Slang for a tea party or any social gathering where buffet style refreshments are served and people have to contest with others to get at whatever is...

Read More


Bungalow

One of the many loan words from the Indian Sub-Continent derives from the Gujerati bangalo, which in turns comes from the Hindi bangla meaning Bengali...

Read More


Bunk

see Do a bunk


Bunk/Bunkum

This has been American slang for nonsense or rubbish since the mid-19th century and is the phonetic spelling of Buncombe, a county in North Carolina....

Read More


Bunny

Pet name for a rabbit since the early 1600s. Bunny is the diminutive of ‘bun’, an earlier dialectical word of unknown origin, now archaic, that meant...

Read More


Bunny boiler

A vengeful, dangerous woman - derives from the movie Fatal Attraction (1987) in which the jilted woman played by Glenn Close kills a pet rabbit belong...

Read More


Bunsen burner

Rhyming slang for earner, Bunsen burner/a nice little earner, signifying a lucrative small business dates from the mid to late 20th century. It is als...

Read More


Burden of proof

This expression is chiefly used in law and dates from the late 1500s. It means that the task or responsibility for providing evidence or proof of some...

Read More


Burn one's fingers

see Get one's fingers burned/burnt


Burn one’s boats/bridges

Whether boats or bridges are burnt, the expression has been used figuratively only since the 19th century in the sense of staking everything on going...

Read More


back to top