A-Z Database
Darby and Joan is a British proverbial phrase for a happily married couple who share a quiet life of mutual devotion and attachment. It is first cited...
Literally, someone who is prepared to dare the devil and the word is first attested from the late 18th century when it was originally used to describe...
see Darkest Africa
This expression derives from horseracing where a dark horse was one that was unknown to bookmakers and punters alike. Thus, there was no form or infor...
To darken someone’s door or step is to be an unwelcome or unwanted visitor. It is usually expressed in the negative e.g. “Never darken my door/doorste...
The coining of darkest Africa is attributed to none other than Henry Morton Stanley the American journalist and adventurer who is perhaps most famous...
Originally, American slang for a Negro, which dates from the late 18th century, generally anglicised by the mid-19th century. It is also the mainly Br...
An American euphemism or minced oath for damn, which dates from the late 18th century.
A dash was originally a violent blow as in 'to dash to pieces' or an impetuous, fast movement of some kind, as in 'to dash off', dates in both these s...
Originally a wooden board or a leather strip placed horizontally in front of the driver and passengers of a horse-drawn vehicle to prevent dashes or s...
A dastard is a malicious or cowardly person, and dastardly describes his or her malicious or cowardly behaviour. Both words date from 1552.
A David and Goliath contest is one that seems heavily mismatched, with the implication that the seemingly weaker opponent will triumph. The allusion i...
In seamen’s mythology, Davy Jones’ locker is the bottom of the sea, the resting place of dead mariners but exactly who the original Davy Jones was is...
This expression means too little too late, and is obviously an American expression from the use of the word dollar and dates from the late 19th centur...
The source is the Bible where the day of reckoning is another form of the Day of Judgment, mention of which appears throughout the Bible.