A-Z Database
To be on cloud nine is to be blissfully happy; an American expression that dates from the mid-20th century. Like other ‘nine’ expressions e.g. dressed...
American slang for an unholy mess dates from the 1970s and is thought to have derived from the US military during the Vietnam War, from the use of clu...
This expression in its various forms dates from the 1500s and in full would be ‘a drowning man will clutch/grasp at straws’. It signifies a weak or fu...
The complete expression is to carry coals to Newcastle, which is the equivalent of embarking upon a useless or pointless undertaking. Newcastle-upon-T...
As in to proceed without effort e.g. to coast through school or college; dates from the early 20th century. Etymologically, it derives from its origin...
This expression meaning one may proceed without any obstacle or impediment was first used figuratively by Michael Drayton (1563-1631) in a poem entitl...
Coaster as in a small tablemat for drinks or bottles first made its appearance during the 19th century. It derives from the sailing vessel that keeps...
This expression sounds most odd in the context of coat meaning an outer garment, but by the 17th century, a coating had become a layer of any substanc...
Australian slang for a friend or mate dates from the late 19th century and one source says it perhaps derives from Suffolk dialect cob meaning to take...
This expression derives from rhyming slang in the early 20th century, cobblers’ awls/balls, referring to testicles. What a load of cobblers meaning wh...
Slang for the penis since the early 1600s and a term of endearment since the 18th century as in old cock meaning old chap.
To cock a snook at someone or something means to express contempt or derision is generally attested in Britain from the late 19th century. It derives...
Refers to a swaggering, boastful male in the same way a rooster dominates the henhouse. The expression is American from the mid-19th century.
A girl or woman who permits and assumes some intimacies but not coitus dates from the early 19th century. See also prick teaser.
Meaning unbridled joy or exultation, it is first cited for this meaning from the late 17th century, but the origin remains an etymological mystery. Th...