A - Z Database
Originally an American English expression meaning to tell someone to go away, dates from the 1940s.
American English expression that conveys puzzlement, wonder or perplexity in the sense of issuing a challenge 'see if you can figure it out'. Some sou...
'Go pound sand' is a uniquely American expression that dates from the early 19th century, and means much the same thing as 'go jump in the lake' or 'g...
A badly tied knot that is liable to jam, a naval expression that dates from the 1860s. Perjorative in the sense that it could have been tied by one's...
Mild expletives of surprise, wonderment, or incredulity that date from the early 19th century.
Mild expletives of surprise, wonderment, or incredulity that date from the early 19th century.
British slang for the boss, or a form of address for an unknown man, dates from the early 19th century, and sometimes shortened to 'guv'ner' or just '...
Coined in 1957 by Ernest Lehman (1915-2006) a screenwriter who wrote screenplay adaptations for many Hollywood movies, including 'The Sweet Smell of S...
A sheet anchor is the largest and heaviest anchor carried by ships, especially sailing ships, and was used in an emergency, sometimes as a second or f...
When used as an adjective, as in 'a two-bit actor', it is a derogatory idiom that means something of very little worth or value. This usage dates from...
This figurative expression means to exert or apply maximum effort and derives from organ-playing, when an organist has to display maximum dexterity by...
To show one's true colours is to reveal what one is really like, to uncover one's real character or intentions, good or bad. It derives from the days...
From the finger movements of playing a fiddle, to fiddle took on the meaning to tamper with something in an aimless, frivolous or idle manner. Fiddle...
Turn in this sense means a change for the better or worse, and dates from the early 1600s.
Turn in this sense means an increase in speed or pace, and dates from the early 1700s.