A-Z Database
see Live on the smell of an oily rag
see On the bounce
see Put someone on the spot
This expression from trot as in running can mean either ‘on the go’ which dates from the late 19th century or ‘in quick succession’ which dates from t...
see On the bounce
This expression means abstaining from alcohol and is American dating from the turn of the 19th/20th century. The expression began life as ‘on the wate...
See Get off on the wrong/right foot
see Skating/treading/walking on thin ice
To get something on tick is get it on credit and has been a British colloquialism since the mid-1600s. Tick here is an abbreviation of ticket, the tic...
British catchphrase that first appears in print from the 1960s means, go away or be on your way and sometimes get away with you (in disbelief). Since...
The origin of this almost Darwinian principle is now lost to us but the concept of avoiding painful experiences is most certainly very ancient. Willia...
The notion of a blue moon has been around for a very long time. During the 18th century, if someone said, “I’ll marry you when the moon is blue” it me...
see When one door closes/shuts, another door opens
see At one fell swoop
Means very old or close to death and was coined by Plutarch (46-120 AD) in Morals of the Training of Children, “An old doting fool, with one foot alre...