A - Z Database
A well-worn expression where old age is described as ripe i.e. having reached full maturity, is one of the oldest clichés in the English language dati...
A rip-off is a swindle or an over-charge and is an Americanism from c.1967 but ‘to rip’ meaning to steal or rob was earlier American slang from the la...
Ripper is a modern Australian colloquialism (c. 1970s) for something excellent or exceptional. Derives from the earlier English slang expression, ripp...
The metaphor of time as a river was coined by Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) Meditations IV, “Time is a sort of river of passing events.”
The concept behind this proverb meaning that good intentions on their own are not enough to avoid trouble or even damnation, is very old, but is thoug...
Means take from one and give to another but its origin remains a mystery. The story that funds were taken from the parish of St Peter, Westminster Abb...
British informal for to arrive, often unannounced or unexpectedly. Dates from the 1960s and derives from rock ‘n roll in the sense that it replaced ro...
This was originally an African-American expression often used in music lyrics, especially blues, from about 1934 onwards. In this context, it meant se...
This is an American colloquial expression from the mid-19th century, used figuratively to mean the lowest possible depth that a state of affairs can s...
To do or say something that causes a problem or stirs up trouble dates from the early 20th century and derives from the obvious allusion to upsetting...
see Off one’s rocker
Something that is very rare or scarce, American slang dates from the 1970s.
In America, rocks can mean precious stones, ice cubes and, equally precious, testicles. The precious stones connotation is from the late 19th/early 20...
Mad, crazy, insane, an Americanism dates from the late 20th century.
see Make a rod for one’s own back