A - Z Database
To have goose bumps is a way of expressing that familiar tingling sensation on the skin that can indicate fear, pleasure, or excitement. It is simply...
see Cook someone’s goose
To play gooseberry in the sense of being a superfluous or unwanted third person dates from the early 19th century when gooseberry was a term for a cha...
see Blimey
This is a popular euphemism, also known as a minced oath, for Gor blimey and other oaths starting with the word God. It dates from the early 20th cent...
This common, everyday exclamation of surprise has been in use since the mid-19th century. Not many people who use it realise that it is a euphonic for...
see Watch someone’s back
Originally from the game of Whist or Bridge where to win all 13 tricks on offer is called a grand slam. This usage is first attested from the early 19...
To hear something on the grapevine is an American metaphor for informal, word-of-mouth communication that dates from the mid-19th century with the all...
see Clutch/grasp at straws
Tackle a difficult problem boldly and directly dates from the late 1500s and derives from the centuries-old knowledge that the common stinging nettle,...
British slang from c. 1920 for a police informer. It can also be used a verb as in to grass on someone. It is believed to be an abbreviation of grassh...
An American metaphor for a very basic, down to earth level or approach; dates from the early 20th century and was originally used to describe basic, o...
Describes a woman whose husband is away temporarily dates from the early 19th century and is thought to have originated in British India when wives we...
A late night or through-the-night period of work, an Americanism that dates from the late 19th century, from the allusion to night and darkness being...