A-Z Database
Synonym for skull dates from the 16th century. Shakespeare uses it in Henry IV Part II, Act II, Scene IV. “Do not speak like a death’s-head; not bid m...
see Bunkum/Bunk
see Months of the year
Unit of measurement for the intensity or loudness of sound is one tenth of a bel, dates from 1928 and is named after Alexander Graham Bell, the invent...
The word derives from the Latin decimus, meaning a tenth and derives from the punishment for Roman legions performing badly in battle, which was decim...
As in ‘deck the halls’ means to cover or dress and dates in this sense from the early 1400s. Deck of cards is first attested from the 1590s. Deck as i...
So-called because these chairs were first used on the decks of ocean liners, dates from the late 19th century.
see In the deep end
see Short arms, deep/long pockets.
British military slang from the 19th century for look, as in have or take a dekko at this. Although used as a noun, it derives from the Hindi dekho me...
British military slang for an upset stomach or diarrhoea dates from WWII with British troops experiencing the phenomenon while stationed in India.
The origin is the New Testament, Matthew, 21:13. “My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.”
Denim, in its modern context of coarse cotton cloth from which jeans are made, is of American origin from the mid-19th century. Today, denims and jean...
See Local derby
Derring-do means heroic action or chivalry and dates in this form from the late 16th century. It is a corruption of ‘daring to do’ and in the form of...