A - Z Database
An American expression for short, ankle-length socks as worn by adolescent girls; dates from the early 1940s. Bobbysoxer, which dates from a little la...
see Bobby socks
The origin of ‘Bob’s your uncle’ sparks debates between etymologists to this day. There is no controversy over its meaning, which is ‘everything is pe...
Bodge is not slang it is merely a variation of botch. Both words mean more or less the same thing i.e. to provide slapdash, makeshift or sub-standard...
This word is acknowledged as an etymological mystery. According to the OED, it first appears in 1941 as “an elderly naval officer” and then by 1945 it...
This phrase meaning basic standard with no frills is of British origin and has been prolifically used since the 1980s but no one is quite sure of its...
'To Bogart a joint' is an American expression that means to selfishly keep a joint ( a marijuana cigarette) to oneself rather than share it, and it da...
A bogey in golf, signifies any score over par, dates from the c.1895 and derives from the much older meaning of bogey or bogeyman dating from the earl...
see Brass
see To boldly go where no man has gone before
Although its modern usage is now a rather vulgar synonym for rubbish or nonsense as in, “what a load of bollocks”, this was once a perfectly acceptabl...
Bollywood is the popular name given to the Indian film industry that is mainly based in Mumbai. Bollywood is first attested from the 1970s and is a co...
All current uses and connotations of the word bolt come from the projectile that was fired from a crossbow. This was known as a bolt or quarrel. By th...
A bolt from or out of the blue, is a complete surprise, something unexpected. The allusion is to a thunderbolt from a bright blue sky, which of course...
To bomb meaning to move rapidly or at great speed, as in “bombing along” is British slang from the 1950s. Bomb meaning a large sum of money as in “to...