A - Z Database
This expression is chiefly used in law and dates from the late 1500s. It means that the task or responsibility for providing evidence or proof of some...
'Woke', the past tense of 'wake', and the slogan 'stay woke' are originally African American expressions that signify an awareness of racial prejudice...
"I'll be with you in two ticks" means that I will be with you very shortly. 'Two ticks' refers to two clicks of a clock i.e. two seconds. Tick, as in...
Originally, British slang for drunk or inebriated, dates from the late 19th century. It derives from slightly earlier slang, 'slosh', meaning a drink....
To blow smoke up someone's ass/arse means to flatter, deceive, or lie to someone, and is originally American, dating from the 1940s. The core is to 'b...
A house proud person is someone who takes pride in keeping their home clean, tidy, and well organised. The expression dates from the early 19th centur...
Safe and sound means to be well, out of danger, secure, and unharmed. It is a very old alliterative expression that dates from the 14th century, usual...
This familiar English word for a distance travelled dates from the 1400s, and is a loan word from the French 'journée' meaning day. Its original meani...
If anyone behaves like a kid or child in a candy store it means they are over excited, over indulgent and possibly out of control. 'Candy store' is Am...
US slang for getting rid of unwanted people in an organisation, often with sinister connotations in movies i.e. assassination. Dates from the 1980s.
A silver fox is a metaphor for an attractive, older man with grey or white hair. The female equivalent is, of course, 'silver vixen', and there has be...
US slang for to have sex, probably deriving from lying down to do so, dates from the 1930s.
Poles apart means as far away as possible, or the complete opposite, and the poles referred to are the north and south poles, two points on the planet...
To shoplift is to steal from a shop, and a shoplifter is a person who steals from a shop. These usages date from 1680, according to the OED. To lift,...
If you have cold hands, it is said that you have a warm heart. It simply means what it says. Many people say, “You know the old saying, cold hands, wa...