A-Z Database
To turn turtle is to turn upside down, chiefly used for boats but also motor vehicles etc. The expression derives from the helplessness of a marine tu...
To turn one’s nose up is to express contempt, derision or rejection and derives from the allusion of turning one’s nose away from a bad smell under it...
see Come up or turn up trumps
A turn-up is slang for an unexpected stroke of luck and dates from the late 19th century, and when used in conjunction with book or books, it refers t...
This expression dates from the 16th century and describes someone who switches allegiances and goes over to the opposition. This was indicated by lite...
Meaning foolish or idle chatter dates from the late 18th century. It derives from earlier and now archaic words like twattle and twittle where a twatt...
Originally, twat is a British vulgar word for vagina dates and from the 17th century; sometimes appears as twot. The word was resurrected from the lat...
In the sense of to understand or cotton on dates from the early 19th century, according to the OED, but adds that the word goes back to the late 18th...
The expression twinkle toes describes a person who is light on their feet, a good dancer but has also been applied to football (soccer) players, dates...
see In the twinkling of an eye
see Wrap/twist around one’s finger
A twit is British slang for a foolish, weak, ineffectual person; in spoken usage from the late 19th/early 20th century and first attested in print fro...
To take two bites or a second bite at the apple or cherry (these two fruits appear to be interchangeable) means to get a second chance or opportunity...
Meaning two brains working on the same problem is better than one is a very old proverb that appears in John Heywood Proverbs (1546).
This expression illustrates the ancient and traditional prejudice to all things left. Logically, two right feet would be just as awkward as two left f...