A-Z Database
In the late 16th century, from when the expression dates, fit meant fine or seemly and had nothing to do with physical fitness. A fiddle or a violin w...
In Britain these days one hears and sees this phrase used widely. It grew out of consumer protection law in the early 21st century in the sense that a...
see Dish fit for the gods
Fit the bill means to fulfil or measure up to the required standard and dates from the early 20th century. It is thought to derive from an earlier Ame...
By fits and starts means spasmodically in irregular patterns and dates from the late 1600s. Fits, of course, are paroxysms and starts, since at least...
An exact or perfect fit, the expression dates from the 18th century.
Phrase that describes the growth of hair on a man’s face at around 17:00 after he has shaved the same morning. The origin is obscure but it is first c...
Meaning a dose of something to which one is addicted is American from c. 1930. Fix in the criminal sense to fix the result of a sporting contest, date...
see Physog
Flabbergasted is to be astonished or utterly confounded. The OED informs us that this colloquialism, in use since the late 18th century, is a purely a...
A flagstone is large paving stone that has nothing to do with flag as in a standard or pennant. The etymology is from an Old Norse word flaga meaning...
Dissension, opposition or criticism, this figurative use is American and dates from the 1960s. The original meaning is of course anti-aircraft fire, d...
Meaning eccentric, unreliable or untrustworthy is American slang from c. 1959 from the allusion that a flake is a fragile sliver of anything, perhaps...
see Flim-flam
British slang for vagina dates from the early 21st century.