A - Z Database
see Taken aback
Various people have been taking the world by storm since the late 19th century, when this figurative usage first appeared. 'Taking by storm' i.e. a vi...
see Like a duck to water
Cause someone to lose all his or her money. This expression has enjoyed a fresh lease of life since the 1930s with the advent of dry-cleaning establis...
Meaning to issue or take up a challenge and dates from the 1500s in its original literal sense of either accepting or issuing a single-combat challeng...
see Take up or throw down the gauntlet
Originally, this was a nautical term dating from the late 1600s, and possibly before, for when a sudden gust of wind came from straight ahead would se...
see Two to tango
Something that is very easy to do, an American colloquialism dates from the early 20th century.
British slang from c.1930 that describes attractive, potential sexual partners; first usage was primarily by men but these days also used by women to...
Meaning that words require very little effort in contrast to positive action, dates from the late 19th century.
see Speak of the devil
see Rot
To talk shop means to talk business, especially when brought unreasonably into the conversation, and dates in this sense from the early 19th century,...
To talk volubly or excessively dates from the early 19th century but first appears in Cobbett’s Weekly in 1808, an American publication, as ‘talking a...