A-Z Database
Jumping up and down with rage dates from the early 1800s.
Children’s street game, various forms of which date back to Roman times. The word hopscotch dates from the 18th century but in earlier centuries it wa...
see Make a (complete) Horlicks of something
To horn in on somebody or something is to interrupt or intrude rudely and aggressively. It is American cowboy slang from the late 19th century (c.1880...
see Stir up a hornets’ nest
In popular usage, to be caught on the horns of a dilemma is to be in a position of doubt or perplexity. More correctly, it means a choice between alte...
Sexually aroused dates from the mid-19th century but horn has been slang for the penis or an erection thereof since the mid-18th century. Despite its...
This is a French culinary term that literally means ‘outside or apart from the main work’. In other words, a food dish that is apart from the main cou...
see Shut the stable door after the horse has bolted
Sound, practical common sense, dates from the early 19th century from the American West. Horses are not particularly intelligent animals but they were...
An American idiom for hard, shrewd bargaining dates from c. 1820 and derives from horse traders who were noted for their negotiation skills.
A stupid person or sometimes rubbish, nonsense or something of little worth, American slang dates from the early 19th century. The British version is...
see Straight from the horse’s mouth
Rough, boisterous behaviour; this usage dates from the early 1500s. To horse around derives from horseplay but is of American origin from the early 20...
People perform better in some environments than others. The expression is British and derives from horseracing in the late 19th century where horses w...