A-Z Database
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...
Rubbish or nonsense, American slang that dates from the early 19th century, much the same as bullshit. See also For the birds.
Sometimes appears in the form of not being held hostage to fortune which means refusing to be placed in a compromising or perilous situation. The sour...
Hot meaning lustful, as 'in heat', dates, according to the OED, from 1500. Hot is also slang for attractive in a sexy way, which lexicographer Jonatho...
see Full of hot air
Earliest citations for this expression describing a state of agitation and anxiety are from the 1920s. Therefore, it may well have been coined by Rudy...
To press the hot button or buttons is to accelerate or fast-forward an issue; an American expression that dates from the early 1960s. It also has sexu...
To do something more than other people have had hot dinners, is a jocular British idiom that expresses great frequency or wide experience at having ex...
This famous American snack, a hot, Frankfurter type sausage in a long bread roll has spread all over the world. The name first made its appearance in...
To set a hot or quick pace, to move quickly, dates from the 1400s.