A - Z Database
A laughing stock is an object of ridicule and dates from the early 16th century. It derives from the medieval punishment of placing wrongdoers in the...
It is not known who coined these actual words, but the concept itself is found in the Bible, Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine....
see Rest on one’s laurels
To fail embarrassingly dates from the 19th century. It is interesting that the expression is common to both Britain and America and derives from sport...
Some sources attribute this to Charles Dickens when it was said by Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist (1838), “If the law supposes that … the law is a ass, a...
These days, usually signifies anarchy or lawlessness but this is not what Rudyard Kipling meant when he coined the expression in The Second Jungle Boo...
We often talk of this or that person being a law unto themselves but are mostly unaware that we are quoting St Paul in his letter to the Romans 2:14 w...
Address an issue authoritatively without discussion dates from the 18th century.
To lay it on thick is to exaggerate grossly, to overstate or flatter. The original concept was coined by Shakespeare c.1598 as lay it on with trowel b...
This was the original concept of lay it on thick and was coined by Shakespeare in As You Like It Act I, Scene II, “Well said: that was laid with a tro...
Lazy Susan is the name given to a revolving device for serving condiments or snacks, which first appeared on American dining tables at the beginning o...
Informal expression for a lazy person dates from the late 16th century.
A simile for a flop or failure for the obvious reason that a lead balloon cannot stay aloft, first attested in America during the 1920s but only came...
This has been a popular misquotation since the late 19th century. The original and correct quotation is from Shakespeare’s Macbeth Act V, Scene VII. “...
To lead someone a merry dance or chase is to mess them about and waste their time, and dates from the 1500s.