A - Z Database
Means friendly fire, which is probably one of the most evil euphemisms ever coined by the military. It means of course being fired upon accidently by...
Visionary thinking, sometimes with the implication that it is not based in reality dates from the early 20th century, of American origin.
The OED informs us that from 1788, this expression is usually used contemptuously to describe intellectual but pedantic women and yet, somewhat ironic...
‘Light the blue touch-paper and retire to safe distance’ has been the standard safety warning on all fireworks from the late 19th century onwards. Tou...
see Wide/wild blue yonder
To rush around like a blue-arsed fly means to be very busy at a hectic pace, usually without purpose or effectiveness. The origin is American, and the...
The current darling or favourite, blue-eyed boy in this context appears to have been coined by P.G. Wodehouse in Damsel in Distress (1919), “He’s the...
The author first came across this phrase in a pub in Exeter, Devon, called The Long Bar during the 1960s, where a blue-plate special was a value-for-m...
Feeling or looking blue or sad dates from the 1500s and from this we have the origin of The Blues, the American music genre that has its roots in the...
see Blue
Originally a short publicity notice, as on the dust cover of a book, but can now refer to any piece of printed matter or writing. It was coined by the...
Rhyming slang for face, boat race/face, dates from the 1960s.
British slang for a shilling since the late 1700s, the exact origin is not known. During the latter half of the 20th century, it has come to mean mone...
Taken together these words constitute a boxing term from the early 19th century for evasive tactics. Bob is an old word from the 14th century for quic...
British slang for a police officer, from about 1851, after Robert Peel who founded the police force in 1828. Bobby of course is short for Robert but b...