A-Z Database
These letters are often seen in the churches, rituals and vestments of various Christian religions, especially Catholicism, Orthodoxy and High Anglica...
IKEA, the world famous international retailer founded in Sweden in 1943 is an acronym for Ingvar Kamprad Eimtaryd Aggunaryd. Ingvar Kamprad is the nam...
Of the same ilk means of the same type or sort and this usage dates from the 1500s although the word ilk itself comes from Old English, pre-12th centu...
This expression meaning uncomfortable or uneasy is from the early 14th century. Shakespeare also used it in Othello Act III, scene III, “Madam, not no...
The complete expression is it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, which is another way of saying that if a wind does not benefit anyone, then it...
Impromptu means without preparation, off-hand and is a direct borrowing from the French impromptu, which means the same thing; ultimately from the Lat...
To be in a bind means to be in a tight or awkward situation, from the allusion to being bound or tied up, dates from the mid-19th century.
see Blue funk
see Corner
see Fix
see Flat spin
see Jam
‘In a jiff’ or ‘in a jiffy’ means in a short moment of time, and is a British colloquialism that dates from the late 18th century, the origin of which...
To put something in the casing of a nut would be to confine it in a very small space. The origin is Shakespeare Hamlet Act II, Scene II, “O God! I cou...
To be in a pickle means to be in a troublesome or unpleasant situation, and dates from the mid-16th century. This figurative sense presumably derives...