A-Z Database
see Flat spin
see Stew/stew in one’s own juice
see Tizz/tizzy
Means in a short moment or in a very short space of time and, in the form of ‘at’ a trice, dates from the mid-15th century. In a trice first appears i...
In any way, shape or form' or 'in some way, shape or form' are commonly used and largely meaningless idiomatic phrases that are used to emphasise a p...
see In the deep end
In the sense of a written record, to get something in black and white dates from the 14th century.
Originally American in origin, the word cahoot meaning a company or partnership dates from c. 1818. According to the OED, the origin is unknown but be...
The shrub clover was and still is highly prized as pasture for cattle and since the early 1700s, to be ‘in clover’ has been a metaphor for living a li...
Many expressions in English derive from the perceived temperature of blood. We talk of doing something in hot blood or in the heat of passion. Sometim...
A metaphor for committing all one’s resources to achieve a goal; dates from the late 17th century when the difference between the value of a pound and...
In hot pursuit or extremely determined, originally used to describe a pack of hounds, dates from the 1400s.
See Swing / take a swing at / swing by / in full swing
British colloquialism that means in good condition dates from the late 19th/early 20th century. Its derivation is probably related to nick meaning the...
see In cold blood