A - Z Database
A temporary expedient or an inferior substitute dates in this sense from the early 19th century, but the etymology is not from shift as in to move but...
Malapropism is the misuse of words of similar sound or construction and mistakenly thought to be named after Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan’s 1775 play The...
This expression for foolish or empty talk originated in American English and according to Merriam-Webster dates from 1929. Its origin is unknown, alth...
This expression describes a soul mate or kindred spirit and the source is the Bible, Samuel I, 13:14, “The Lord had sought him a man after his own hea...
This was coined by John Bogart (1845-1921) while he was city editor of The Sun newspaper, New York. The full quotation as it appears in The Story of T...
This was Robert Whittington’s famous description of Sir Thomas More written c. 1520. A Man for All Seasons was fittingly the title of the play by Robe...
Describes a loyal and devoted servant or odd-job man and dates in this sense from the early 19th century. The origin of course is the man that Robinso...
Could it be that Shakespeare, hardly a man of few words, coined this expression? He certainly used it in the plural form in Henry V, Act III, Scene II...
see By all/any manner of means
A person can be judged by his or her manners. The saying is attributed to William of Wykeham (1324-1404); it is the motto of the school, Winchester Co...
Often wrongly attributed to John Wayne in the movie Stagecoach (1939), or Hondo (1953) or to Alan Ladd in the movie Shane (1953). Neither actor these...
see Englishman’s home is his castle.
This is a very ancient proverb, sometimes attributed to Homer c.700 BC. Its first appearance in print in English was during the 16th century.
A very ancient proverb known to both the Greeks and the Romans; first appears in English in Proverbs by John Heywood in 1546.
The English word map first cited in English in 1527 derives from the Latin mappa, which means tablecloth or napkin because most of the early maps were...