A-Z Database
Colloquial expression for befooling or kidding dates from the late 19th century but became Standard English by the early 20th century. During the 1930...
see Not a leg to stand on
To be drunk or inebriated, a British colloquial expression that dates from the 1960s.
British slang for sexual intercourse, usually used by males rather than females. A shortened form of 'to get one's leg over' which h...
British and American informal for something that is worthless or not the genuine article as in, for example, ‘the car I bought was a lemon’ dates from...
see Can the leopard change its spots?
This name for one-piece, tight-fitting women’s wear derives from the 19th century French trapeze artist Jules Léotard (1838-1870) who first wore such...
see Least/less said, the soonest mended
This phrase appears on nearly every memorial, epitaph or commemoration to those who have given their lives in war. It was coined by Rudyard Kipling in...
This expression dates from the early 17th century and means the same as let the past remain in the past in the sense of holding no grudges. A bygone i...
Means to hurl a missile, to fire or shoot at something, or vehemently express an opinion. All these meanings and uses date from the 16th century.
To be relaxed and uninhibited is American from the mid-1960s.
see Blow/let off steam
see off the hook
To dispense with formality, relax and have a good time, dates from the mid-19th century when women in particular would generally wear their hair pinne...