A-Z Database
As in shammy leather, a soft pliable leather made from the skin of Chamois, a European breed of mountain goat/antelope from which shammy is a perverse...
Derives from the Hindi chhampo, which is the imperative form of the Hindi word for press, dates from c. 1762 when shampoo originally meant a rub or a...
Mixture of beer and lemonade or ginger beer and is first cited from the late 19th century as a shortened form of ‘shandygaff’, which dates from a litt...
Shank’s pony is a jocular expression that means on foot, and dates in various forms, ‘shank’s nag’, ‘shank’s mare’ as well as ‘shank’s pony’ from the...
Shape meaning condition i.e. in good/bad shape etc is American from the mid-19th century. See also Get into shape, lick into shape.
Meet the required standards is American from the early 20th century.
This expression is first attested from the mid-1950s and is originally from the US military, an order directed at troublesome personnel to conform, do...
Meaning of course to share equally. The expression originally was share and share like, which is first attested in Richard Edwards’ comedy Damon and P...
Some people might remember this as the name of the wizard Shazam who bestowed upon Billy Batson, a radio news reporter, the magical power to turn into...
A sheet anchor is the largest and heaviest anchor carried by ships, especially sailing ships, and was used in an emergency, sometimes as a second or f...
Male Australian slang for a woman or girl dates from c. 1830. It is not derived, as many suppose, from Sheila as an Irish common or generic name for a...
Shell out means to disburse, pay out and somewhat surprisingly is not slang. It is a colloquialism from the late 18th/early 19th century that derives...
Mainly North American and Australian slang for an overwhelming defeat dates from the late 19th century. It derives from Shellac a type of wood varnish...
A cryptic, secretive jargon used by tinkers, gipsies etc comprised partly of Irish, Gaelic or Romany words disguised by inversion or arbitrary alterat...
This is an expression meaning a state of chaos and utter confusion. It is thought to have originated in London’s East End in the late 19th century. It...