A-Z Database
British slang for money that dates from the 1980s; thought to be derived from a Romany word wongar meaning money.
As is one’s wont means according to one’s habit or custom, where wont is a largely archaic word from the 1300s deriving from the Anglo-Saxon wonen or...
see Have the wood on or over someone. See also Touch/touching wood
This metaphor for ships obviously only lasted until ships ceased to be made from wood during the latter half of the 19th century. The metaphor is very...
see My word is my bond
see Have one’s work cut out
see Beaver
An old simile for working very hard, like a sheep dog, or similar, who works tirelessly until the job is done, dates from the early 1700s.
To work like a Trojan means to work very hard and to call someone a Trojan or a real Trojan is to commend someone on a job well done. As mentioned in...
To work extremely hard where ‘socks off’ has become an intensifier denoting to the extreme or utmost. The expression dates from the mid-20...
Like so many expressions, the source is Shakespeare. The world is your oyster is said to another person to indicate that there is a world of relativel...
see Atlas
The World Wide Web, more often referred to as ‘the web’, is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘the Internet’, but mistakenly so. The World Wide Web...
It is generally acknowledged that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession but no one knows who established this as fact, if indeed it is a fact....
To insinuate one’s way into a relationship or a situation in order to exploit it for gain or special favour, dates from the 17th century and derives f...