A - Z Database
To play devil’s advocate means to plead or argue the opposite case, not necessarily to refute it, but to test its validity. It derives from Medieval L...
This was the title of one of the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming in 1956, subsequently made into a 1971 movie starring Sean Connery, in which...
In the 16th century, anyone working on a diatribe would be working on a dissertation or a discourse of some kind. It used to be a word with no adverse...
see First dibs
Dice as a verb meaning to race or drive a car dangerously dates from the early 1950s and was originally connected with grand prix racing where drivers...
This mild slang expletive from the 16th century originally stems from Dicken or Dickon, diminutives of Dick, which besides being a common name was als...
Dick has been short for Richard since about the 13th century and the reason remains obscure because the etymology of the name Richard springs from a c...
"Dickhead is a slang and derogatory term for a stupid person. It is usually only applied to men because of 'dick' being slang for penis, and this mean...
Dicky is a British colloquialism that means not functioning properly, as in ‘a dicky heart’, or it can mean unwell as in ‘feeling a bit dicky’. Both t...
Children’s talk for a small bird dates from the late 18th century but the origin is obscure, perhaps echoic of the sounds that small birds make and oc...
Another name for a bow tie dates from the mid-19th century, probably derives from its association with dicky as in a detachable shirtfront.
Sometimes called a rumble seat was the foldout seat at the rear of some early automobiles dates from the early 20th century but why dicky remains obsc...
see Turn a hair
Diddle in the sense of to cheat or swindle dates from the early 19th century and derives from Jimmy Diddler, a fictional swindler in the popular farce...
see Squat