A-Z Database
Rhyming slang for cricket pads, Mums and Dads/pads, dates from the mid-20th century. Recently used by retired cricketer, now commentator, Nasser Husse...
Chiefly white Zimbabwean slang for a Black African dates from the mid-20th century, and derives from the Matabele word umuntu meaning people.
Murder has been a collective noun for crows since the 15th century due to the superstitious association of crows with death because of course they fee...
Mush is Standard English, probably a variation of mash, for any soft or pulpy food and is first cited in this sense from the early 19th century, altho...
British armed services jocular slang as in Mustapha drink or Mustapha crap (must have a) dates from the 1930s and derives from the popular Arab name.
South African informal for medicine derives from the Zulu umuthi for medicine and dates from at least the 19th century.
US slang for a stupid, ignorant blunderer, an abbreviation of muttonhead, dates from 1910. Again, originating from America, it can also mean a small d...
Rhyming slang for deaf, Mutt and Jeff/deaf, dates from the 1940s, derives from the comic strip characters Mutt and Jeff created by Bud Fisher in 1907.
A derogatory metaphor for an older woman trying to dress and act younger dates in this form from the early 19th century but is preceded by a slightly...
A dull-witted stupid person, derives from the well-known stupidity of sheep and dates from the late 18th/early 19th century.
Vulgar expression of surprise or disbelief, dates from the late 19th century. Some sources maintain that my aunt is the genteel version.
Mild expression of surprise that dates from the late 19th century. Some sources maintain it is a polite form of my arse, which is much older. Sometime...
'My dogs are barking' is a colloquial expression that is fairly prevalent throughout the English-speaking world and means, my feet are aching and tire...
My eye or all my eye are retorts to someone talking rubbish and are the equivalent of retorting, “Nonsense!” It dates from the early 19th century and...
An expression of disbelief, similar to my eye, but appears later, from the late 19th/early 20th century. The relevance and meaning of foot in this con...