A-Z Database
A minced oath or euphemism for bloody dates from the early 19th century.
Derogatory fanfare or publicity without substance dates from the early 19th century and is of American origin. The source is unknown. Theories that it...
This is an American expression, usually used as an interjection, meaning rubbish or nonsense, which dates from the late 19th/early 20th century. There...
This word meaning to deceive or mislead by elaborate means is of unknown origin. There are several theories about its origin but none of them are prov...
Banana republic is a pejorative term for a politically unstable country that relies on primary productions like bananas. It was coined by the American...
A banana skin, figuratively, is potential hazard, problem or slip-up, from the allusion that old, rotting banana skins can be dangerous and cause a fa...
The Portuguese discovered this fruit in West Africa and borrowed the word from some local African language as long ago as the 16th century. People, ho...
The source is Shakespeare Henry V Act IV, Scene III, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Describes a large, coloured necktie or headscarf; the word made its way into the English language during the mid-18th century. It is not of Hispano-Am...
Bandy was an early form of tennis, still prevalent in the 1500s, but now no longer known. The word derives from the French bander or bande meaning to...
Slang for sexual intercourse dates from the 1930s.
This American expression means value for money. Its origin, however, was literally more bang i.e. more firepower for the taxpayers’ money. According t...
This British expression is thought to have originated with bomber crews during the Second World War. In America, the expression bang up to the mark me...
This expression is not heard or used very much these days but it means fair and square as in being caught or being beaten bang to rights and dates fro...
British slang for sausage dates from the early 20th century, so-called because if sausages were cooked on too high a heat, they were liable to explode...