Not the full shilling

If someone is not the full shilling it means they are mentally deficient or not the genuine article. It is a British colloquialism that dates from the...

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Not to be able to do something for toffee

see Toffee

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Not to be sneezed at

Mostly appears in this negative form and means not to be taken lightly or not to be treated with scorn. It first appears in a play by the English dram...

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Not to die wondering

see Die wondering

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Not touch with a barge pole

This expression dates from the 19th century and means that someone or something is so unappealing that one would not go anywhere near them. A barge po...

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Not touch with a ten foot pole

see Not touch with a barge pole

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Not turn a hair

See Turn a hair

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Not worth a brass farthing

see Brass farthing

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Not worth a continental

see Not give/worth a continental

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Not worth a hill/row of beans

Chaucer in Troilus and Criseyde c. 1380 wrote, “Such arguments … nat worth a bene.” Therefore, beans have been viewed as worthless for centuries. Fast...

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Not worth a red cent

see Red cent

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Not worth a tinker’s damn/curse/cuss

see Tinker’s damn/curse/cuss

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Not worth one’s salt

see Worth one’s salt

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Not worth the candle

Not worth the candle means worthless or unjustifiable because of the trouble or cost involved and dates from the 1600s. The origin is French and it fi...

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Nothing left in the tank

see Leave something in the tank.

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