A - Z Database
see Stitch/stitches
see Altogether
In the bag means that something or other is a virtual certainty and is of American origin from the late 19th/early 20th century. It is a metaphor for...
The expressions in the black and in the red date from the early 20th century and mean in credit or debit, deriving from the accounting practice of rec...
To be in the box seat or seats is to be in an advantageous position and dates in this figurative sense from the mid-19th century. There are two theori...
In the buff means in the nude and dates from the 1600s. Buff here is the colour buff, a light brown, and derives from what was known as a buff-coat wh...
Uninformed, ignorant of what is going on, dates from the 1400s.
To jump in and take the plunge in a figurative sense, also to go off the deep end is to lose one’s control or temper. Both expressions originated in A...
see Driver’s/driving seat
see Groovy
Means privy to some secret or not widely known information and in this sense dates from the late 19th century.
To be in or out of the hunt is a metaphor for competing or not competing actively in whatever game or contest is taking place. It originates, of cours...
The lap is traditionally a place of comfort and to live in the lap of luxury is to live affluently and dates from the late 18th century.
This means beyond human control in the sense that events are left to their own fate. Some sources attribute the origin to Homer c. 700 BC, including T...
see Left in the lurch