2,169 entries
Meanings
The meaning and origin of phrases, sayings, and figurative expressions.
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- A bad egg Someone or something that disappoints expectations.
- A bad penny Something or someone is bad and unwanted.
- A bad penny always turns up A disreputable or prodigal person will always return. More generally, this proverb refers to the recurrence of any unwanted event.
- A bad workman always blames his tools A bad workman blames his tools (or other external factors) when his work is poor.
- A barking dog never bites The proverb 'a barking dog never bites' isn't really about dogs. It puts forward the opinion that people who are loud and threatening don't back up their threats with action.
- A bed of roses The expression 'a bed of roses' describes a pleasant or easy situation.
- A bee in your bonnet Preoccupied or obsessed with an idea.
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush The proverb 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' means that it's better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing.
- A blessing in disguise An unexpected blessing (i.e. an unexpected good thing, such as something which felt bad at first, but led to something good).
- A blot on the landscape Something that spoils the view or ruins a previously comfortable situation.
- A bolt from the blue A complete surprise, like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky - literally 'out of the blue'.
- A bun in the oven To have 'a bun in the oven' is to be pregnant. Oven = womb, baby = bun.
- A bunch of fives 'A bunch of fives' is a slang term for a fist, especially one used for punching. The fives are the four fingers and the thumb.
- A cat may look at a king An inferior isn't completely restricted in what they may do in the presence of a superior.
- A chain is only as strong as its weakest link The proverb 'A chain is only as strong as its weakest link' has a literal meaning, although the 'weakest link' referred to is figurative and usually applies to a person or technical feature rather than the link of an actual chain.
- A change is as good as a rest A change is as good as a rest is a proverb that expresses, in a fairly straightforward literal way, the notion that a change from one's regular occupation is as restorative as a holiday.
- A charmed life A life of guaranteed good fortune or invulnerability, by virtue of a charm or spell.
- A chip off the old block A person or thing that derives from the source or parentage.
- A cock and bull story A cock and bull story is a fanciful and unbelievable tale.
- A cock-up A blunder; a confused situation.
- A complete shambles A scene of disorder; a ruin; a mess.
- A concrete overcoat A jocular reference to a form of coffin, alluding to a body being dumped beneath a layer of concrete.
- A countenance more in sorrow than in anger 'A countenance more in sorrow than in anger' has a literal meaning. It describes the demeanour of a person who has suffered a setback or a shock but is displaying sadness rather than anger.
- A country mile 'A country mile' means 'a long distance, especially one that was expected to be shorter. For example - "Red Rum won the Grand National by a country mile". The phrase has also been used to refer to surprisingly large amounts. For example - "She's definitely the best pianist in the competition - by a country mile.".
- A curate's egg A 'curate's egg' is a bad thing that is called good out of politeness or timidity.
- A Daniel come to judgement Someone who makes a wise judgement about something that has previously proven difficult to resolve.
- A dark horse A dark horse is someone, who was previously little known, emerges to prominence in a competition.
- A dead ringer An exact duplicate.
- A diamond in the rough Someone who is basically good hearted but lacking social graces and respect for the law.
- A diamond is forever Other phrases with American origin Advertising slogan for De Beers' diamonds.
- A different kettle of fish 'A different kettle of fish' is an alternative to what has been previously considered; a different thing altogether. For example, we might offer to have a friend stay for a few days but remark that a stay of a few months would be a different kettle of fish.
- A dime a dozen Very common. (Or [they] are easily and readily available.)
- A dish fit for the gods A dish fit for the gods is an offering of high quality.
- A drop in the bucket A drop in the bucket is a very small and insignificant proportion of the whole.
- A dust-up A f'dust-up' is a ifght.
- A fate worse than death Any misfortune that would make life unlivable, especially rape or loss of virginity. The phrase was formerly a euphemism for rape.
- A feather in one's cap A symbol of honour and achievement.
- A fish out of water Someone who is in a situation they are unsuited to.
- A fish rots from the head down When an organization or state fails, it is the leadership that is the root cause.
- A fly in the ointment A fly in the ointment is a small but irritating flaw that spoils the whole. In the 20th century the expression has also come to be used to describe a small flaw that comes to light to spoil an otherwise faultless plan.
- A fool and his money are soon parted Literal meaning.
- A fool's paradise A state of happiness based on false hope.
- A foot in the door An introduction or way in to something, made in order that progress may be made later.
- A foregone conclusion A foregone conclusion is a decision made before the evidence for or against it is known. Literally, it is a conclusion which is inevitable because the result has been decided beforehand (or 'afore').
- A friend in need is a friend indeed There are various interpretations of the meaning of 'a friend in need is a friend indeed'. There is some debate about the meaning of this expression. Firstly, is it the friendship 'indeed' (without doubt) or 'in deed' (demonstrated by one's actions)? Secondly, is it 'a friend (when you are) in need' or 'a friend (who is) in need'? If the former, then the phrase means: 'someone who helps you when you are in need is a true friend'. If the latter, it is 'someone who needs your help becomes especially friendly in order to obtain it'. So, that gives us four options: 1. A friend, (when you are) in need, is indeed a true friend. ('indeed') 2. A friend, (when you are) in need, is someone who is prepared to act to show it ('in deed') 3. A friend, (who is) in need, is ('indeed') inclined to stress their frienship in order to obtain your help. 4. A friend, (who is) in need, is someone who is p'in deed') prepared to act to show their frienship and so obtain your help. The original meaning can be resolved to some degree by the documentary evidence - see below. Nevertheless, although most people have no doubt that No.1 is correct. There is no unambiguous right or wrong here and this is a phrase the meaning of which we probably infer from the context in which we first hear it. Whichever of the above options we initially opt for will cement our understanding of the phrase, probably forever.
- A friend to all is a friend to none If you’re a ‘friend’ to everyone, then you choose to be neutral and choose not to take sides. This means that you are not loyal to anyone, and therefore not a friend to anyone.
- A frog in the throat Temporary hoarseness caused by phlegm in the back of the throat.
- A game of two halves Circumstances have changed suddenly.
- A golden key can open any door 'A golden key opens any door' is the opinion that sufficient money, or the promise of it, will allow the possessor of it to do anything they wish.
- A good beginning makes a good ending The proverbial saying 'a good beginning makes a good ending' expresses the opinion that preparation and a positive start to any enterprise is the key to a successful outcome.
- A good hiding A good hiding is a severe thrashing.
- A good man is hard to find A modern-day proverb, bemoaning the difficulty of finding a suitable male partner.
- A hard man is good to find A risqué comic play on words on a good man is hard to find.
- A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse 'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse' is one of Shakespeare's best known lines. The king spoke the line in Act V of the play Richard III, after losing his horse in battle. More generally the meaning of the expression is that the speaker is in great need of a particular item and is willing to trade something of great value to get it. The quotation is sometimes now repeated ironically when someone is in need of some relatively unimportant item - offering their 'kingdom' for, a cup of tea, or a warm coat, or whatever.
- A house divided against itself cannot stand Literal meaning (house meaning household).
- A house is not a home This English proverb draws the distinction between a bricks and mortar house and a caring domestic dwelling with memories and a feeling of belonging.
- A house of ill repute Euphemism for brothel.
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step The proverb 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' puts forward the notion that, however difficult a task is, you can only complete it if you first start it.
- A king's ransom A king's ransom is an unspecified but exceedingly large amount of money.
- A knight in shining armour A knight in shining armour is a person, usually a man, who comes to the aid of another, usually a woman, in a gallant and courteous manner.
- A knock-back A reversal of fortune or disappointment. Also used in a verb form as to knock-back, meaning to refuse an offer. Drinkers in a hurry may also knock back their drink, that is, gulp it down.
- A la carte 'A la carte' means 'on the menu', with each dish separately priced.
- A labour of love Work undertaken for the pleasure of it or for the benefit of a loved one.
- A lady of the night Euphemism for prostitute.
- A legend in one's own lifetime 'A legend in their own lifetime' refers to a living person of considerable fame.
- A leopard cannot change its spots The proverbial saying 'A leopard cannot change its spots' expresses the notion that things cannot change their innate nature. It is normally used to suggest that people who have done bad things will always be bad people.
- A lick and a promise A cursory effort, for instance at painting or tidying up. It alludes to the perfunctory washing performed by children.
- A little bird told me I was told by a private or secret source.
- A little knowledge is a dangerous thing The proverb 'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' expresses the idea that a small amount of knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are, which can lead to mistakes being made.
- A little of what you fancy does you good A euphemistic way of expressing the benefits of sex.
- A load of cobblers Nonsense, rubbish.
- A load of codswallop Nonsense.
- A man after my own heart A kindred spirit - someone I can agree with.
- A man for all seasons Someone with a wide range of skills and abilities, who is able to adapt to, and even thrive in different situations.
- A man is known by the company he keeps A person is similar to the people he chooses to spend time with.
- A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client Literal meaning.
- A Mexican wave A wave effect formed when crowds in stadia rise up and down from their seats in succession.
- A Mickey Finn A sedative (or sometimes in the US a purgative) drug surreptitiously slipped into someone's drink.
- A millstone around one's neck A heavy and inescapable burden or responsibility.
- A ministering angel shall my sister be To minister is to serve, or act as a subordinate agent. So a ministering angel is a kind-hearted person, providing help and comfort.
- A miss is as good as a mile A narrow miss is as bad as a wide miss - they are both misses.
- A movable feast A feast day that falls on the same day of the week each year but which has a date which varies.
- A multitude of sins A number of undesirable qualities.
- A nation of shopkeepers This proverbial saying has a straightforward literal meaning, although it is intended to imply criticism of the English as a nation with little ambition.
- A nation of shopkeepers This proverbial saying has a straightforward literal meaning, although it is intended to imply criticism of the English as a nation with little ambition.
- A nest of vipers A group of iniquitous people, congregating together.
- A nest-egg Savings, set aside for later use.
- A no-brainer Something that requires little mental effort or intelligence to perform or understand. The term is often applied to decisions which are straightorward or sometimes to people who appear to lack intelligence.
- A nod is as good as a wink 'A nod is as good as a wink' expresses the idea that, to a person who is ready to understand or undertake something, any subtle signalling of it is sufficient. The context is usually of some undertaking that is borderline illegal or of sexual innuendo.
- A norange In 1914 the Danish grammarian Otto Jespersen coined the term 'metanalysis'. That's rather a dry start to a piece on what is a lively and intriguing facet of the English language. To find out what prompted Jespersen to believe that we needed a new word, let's bring in a stage prop - the humble orange. Many sources will tell you that oranges were originally called 'noranges' and that 'a norange' migrated to being called 'an orange'. Well, like so much folk etymology, that's not true, but there is a germ of truth in it - there never has been a word 'norange' in English, but there very nearly was. The climate in England doesn't qualify it as an orange-growing area and the fruit were first imported there in the 14th century. Oranges originated in South-east Asia and when they arrived in Persia and Spain they were given the names 'narang' and 'naranja' respectively. As they got nearer to England, and hence nearer to requiring a name in English, they lost the 'n'. This happened on their journey through France, where they were known as 'pomme d'orenge'. In English, the indefinite article may be 'a' or 'an', depending on whether it is followed by a word which starts with a consonant or a vowel. When the consonant is an 'n', we may run into the 'a norange'/'an orange' confusion. It was this displacement of a letter from one word to another that Jespersen took an interest in and named 'metanalysis'. medieval words like 'a napperon', 'a nuncle' and 'a nadder' could easily be confused in everyday speech with 'an apron', 'an uncle' and 'an adder' - and they were. The earlier forms aren't now used. The misaligning of word boundaries can go the other way too, with the 'n' being added rather than lost. The best known examples of that are 'nickname' and 'newt', which were originally 'an eke-name' and 'an ewt'. It's easy for us to see these examples now as errors, but bear in mind that the changing of words based on confusion about where words start and end took place before dictionaries or even printing and reading were commonplace. When we come across new words now it is just as likely that we see them in print as to hear them spoken. If we had to rely on speech alone we might now be coining mutations like 'an erd' or 'a Niphone'.
- A paying guest A lodger.
- A penny for the guy 'A penny for the guy' is the request that children make when begging for money to buy fireworks for Bonfire Night celebrations. It used to be a commonplace in the streets of the UK in early November but is less so in the 21st century.
- A penny for your thoughts An invitation to a person lost in thought to share his or her preoccupation.
- A penny saved is a penny earned The notion expressed in the proverbial saying 'A penny saved is a penny earned' is that it is as useful to save money that you already have as it is to earn more.
- A perfect storm A situation, or set of circumstances, where there’s an extraordinary convergence of multiple factors, such as tensions building up, to create several simultaneous and dramatic events. (Usually in the negative sense.)
- A picture is worth a thousand words A picture tells a story just as well as, if not better than, a lot of written words.
- A piece of cake Other phrases: American origin A straightforward task that can easily be accomplished.
- A piece of the action A share in an activity, or in its profits.
- A pig in a poke A pig in a poke is an offer or deal that is foolishly accepted without being examined first.
- A place for everything and everything in its place The proverbial notion that there should be 'a place for everything and everything in its place' is the idea that everything should have somewhere to be stored and that it should be tidily returned there when not in use.
- A plague on both your houses A frustrated curse on both sides of an argument.
- A pretty kettle of fish The expression 'a pretty kettle of fish' or 'a fine/nice kettle of fish' means 'a muddle or awkward state of affairs'. It's the kind of situation that Oliver Hardy was referring to when he told Stan Laurel "here's another nice mess you've got me into". The phrase 'a different kettle of fish' has a separate meaning, which is, 'an alternative; a different thing altogether'. The two phrases are often confused but have different origins and different meanings. Which is another way of saying that they are different phrases. As this graph of the use of the two phrases in print shows, the 'pretty' variant was overtaken by 'different' around 1950.
- A pretty penny A considerable profit, or a large sum of money.
- A priori From the previous.
- A problem shared is a problem halved The proverbial saying 'A problem shared is a problem halved' expresses the idea that, when in difficulties it is useful to talk to someone about them.
- A red rag to a bull To wave a red rag to a bull is to deliberately provoke it. More generally, the expression denotes any deliberate action intended to bring about an adverse reaction.
- A riddle wrapped up in an enigma A puzzle - difficult to solve.
- A riddle wrapped up in an enigma 'A riddle wrapped up in an enigma' is a puzzle - something especially difficult to understand or to solve.
- A rising tide lifts all boats 'A rising tide lifts all boats' is a fairly recent proverbial saying - given that most proverbs are centuries old. It is most often used today to refer to the movements of prices on the stock market or the economy generally. The notion as regards the stock market is that a rising 'bear' market causes all stocks to rise in value, even weak ones. As regards the economy the idea is of a Reaganistic trickle down effect, that is, if those at the top of the economic pile do well then so do all others. As we shall see below, the economic world wasn't the source of this expression.
- A rolling stone gathers no moss Someone who does not settle in one place rarely prospers.
- A rose by any other name would smell as sweet The saying 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet' means that what matters is what something is, not what it is called.
- A rose is a rose is a rose The meaning most often attributed to 'a rose is a rose is a rose' is the notion that, when all is said and done, a thing is what it is. This is in similar vein to Shakespeare's 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet'. However, that's not the interpretation given by the author of the phrase - see below.
- A rum do An event that is disreputable or strange.
- A safe pair of hands A reliable, if somewhat dull, person who can be entrusted not to make a mistake with a task.
- A sea change A 'sea change' is a radical change or transformation.
- A shot across the bows A warning shot, either real or metaphorical.
- A shot in the arm A shot in the arm is a stimulus.
- A shot in the dark A hopeful attempt.
- A sight for sore eyes A welcome sight; someone or something you are glad to see.
- A skeleton in the closet The expression 'a skeleton in the closet' refers to a secret source of shame, potentially ruinous if exposed, which a person or family makes efforts to conceal.
- A sledgehammer to crack a nut To use 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut' means to use disproportionate force or expense to overcome a minor problem.
- A sorry sight A 'sorry sight' is a regrettable and unwelcome feature. Now also used to mean something or someone of untidy appearance.
- A square meal A substantial, nourishing meal.
- A sticky wicket A difficult situation.
- A stitch in time saves nine A 'stitch in time' is a timely effort that will prevent more work later.
- A stone's throw A short distance.
- A swarm in May is worth a load of hay The later it is in the year, the less time available for bees to collect pollen from flowers in blossom
- A thing of beauty is a joy forever The experience of beauty is blissful and lasting.
- A thorn in the flesh A persistent difficulty or annoyance.
- A tinker's damn Something that is insignificant or worthless.
- A tissue of lies A story invented in order to deceive.
- A turn up for the books An unexpected piece of good fortune.
- A watched pot never boils The proverbial expression 'a watched pot never boils' refers to the feeling time seems to go slower when you are anxiously waiting for something to happen.
- A whip round An impromptu collection of money from a group of people, in order to fund some joint enterprise.
- A white elephant Originally 'white elephants' were simply that - elephants that were white. Later, the expression came to mean 'a burdensome possession - one that is more trouble than it is worth'. More recently, the term has also been used to describe any doomed enterprise, on which large sums of money are spent and which is then abandoned.
- A wide berth A goodly distance.
- A wolf in sheep's clothing 'A wolf in sheep's clothing' is someone who hides malicious intent under the guise of kindliness.
- A woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke You can get more enjoyment from a cigar than from a woman.
- A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" is a feminist slogan, humorously expressing the view that a woman can live her life perfectly well without a man.
- A woman's place is in the home The proverb 'A women's place is in the home' is now rarely used with its original literal meaning. These days it is more often used ironically if someone suggests that women are best suited to domestic employment.
- A word in your shell-like I would like to talk to you.
- A young man's fancy The expression 'A young man's fancy' alludes to light thoughts of romantic love.
- A1 at Lloyd's The highest quality.
- Abandon all hope ye who enter here 'Abandon all hope ye who enter here' is the supposed inscription at the entrance to Hell.
- Abide with me The name of the well-known Christian hymn, written by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847. A plea for God to be always present, in one's life and through death.
- About face Change direction.
- About turn Change direction.
- Above board Openly; without any trickery.
- Above my pay grade Something which is "above my pay grade" is something which is above your level of professional responsibility. It is used most often when someone is declining to take on work for which they aren't qualified or paid. The expression is most often used in a jocular way when referring to anything that someone has no expertise about or doesn't really care about. For example, "My neighbour's cat has disappeared and he wants me to go out with him in the rain to hunt for it - but that's way above my pay grade". The phrase is often expressed as "beyond your pay grade".
- Abracadabra An exclamation used by conjurers when performing tricks.
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder The missing of a person or thing increases the desire for it.
- Absent without leave Absent without permission.
- Absent-minded professor Other phrases: American origin An absent-minded professor is someone (usually male) who is habitually inattentive or forgetful and distracted to the extent of being unaware of his immediate surroundings. The allusion is to a bumbling academic who is so preoccupied with abstract thought as to forget to engage with the real world. The image presented is usually of someone who neglects their appearance and fails to be aware of other people and events.
- Accident of birth An 'accident of birth' is the consequence of the circumstances into which a person is born. For example, a prince will probably have a different life to a pauper or an Inuit to a Kalahari bushman. The term may also be applied to some innate talent that a person has by virtue of the DNA they inherited from their parents. For example, "LeBron James' success at basketball was, in part, due to the accident of birth of growing to 6 feet, 8 inches tall".
- Accidentally on purpose Deliberately, but feigning accident.
- Accidents will happen Things sometimes go wrong, despite our best efforts.
- According to Hoyle In accord with the highest authority; in accord with a strict set of rules.
- Ace in the hole Something that can supply a sure victory when revealed.
- Achilles' heel An Achilles' heel is a weak or vulnerable factor - especially one where all other components are strong.
- Acid test A sure test, giving an incontestable result.
- Ack-ack 'Ack-ack' is a the name of anti-aircraft gunfire. It has also been used as the name of an anti-aircraft gun and the regiment that used it.
- Acronyms Acronyms are words which are formed from the initial letters of other words. This definition requires clarification. By 'initial letters', the definition doesn't limit itself just to the single first letter of a word, but to the letters that begin the word. So, 'quango', which is formed from ' quasi non-governmental organization', is an acronym. Conversely, words like 'laser', which is formed from 'light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation', isn't strictly an acronym as the 'b', 't' and 'o' of 'by', 'the' and 'of' are ignored. In general usage, although not in the piece below, these restrictions are frequently ignored.
- Across the board Embracing all classes or categories without exception.
- Across the pond The pond refers to the North Atlantic Ocean. Going across the pond refers to travel between Europe (especially the UK) and the Americas (especially the USA).
- Act of God An act which is accepted legally as being outside human control.
- Act the giddy goat Behave foolishly.
- Action man Other phrases: American origin A dynamic, macho type of man.
- Actions speak louder than words This proverb express the idea that a person's actions are a better indication of their character than what he or she says.
- Adam's ale Water.
- Add insult to injury Making things even worse.
- Adversity makes strange bedfellows The proverbial saying 'adversity makes strange bedfellows' suggests that, in times of trouble, people who wouldn't normally associate with each other may form an alliance.
- After the fact 'After the fact' means after an action is performed; in legal parlance, after a crime has been committed.
- Aga saga An 'aga saga' is a genre of popular fiction usually set in comfortable middle-class English homes.
- Against the clock To be 'against the clock' is to be in competition with the passage of time; to be hurrying to accomplish something within a set time.
- Against the grain Against one's inclination or natural tendency.
- Age before beauty Older people should be given precedence over the younger and, by implication, more beautiful. This is normally used jocularly, often by the older person in order to flatter the younger.
- Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety Shakespeare has his character Enobarbus give the opinion that Anthony will never become bored with Cleopatra and that she grows more attractive to him as she ages. The expression is used, sometimes ironically, to express one's devotion to a lover.
- Agree to disagree Set aside an irreconcilable difference in order to maintain a civil dialogue.
- Aid and abet To help and encourage, usually in the commission of a crime or anti-social act.
- Aide-mémoire 'To aid memory' - a literal translation from the French.
- Air kiss Other phrases: American origin The act of greeting (or sometimes of farewell) by making a kissing gesture into the air while brushing cheeks - or in a near miss.
- Air quotes Other phrases: American origin A gesture with raised pairs of fingers, when making a statement, to simulate quotation marks. It indicates that what is being said is ironic or otherwise not to be taken verbatim.
- Al fresco From the Italian, literally translated as 'in the fresh'. In English, used to mean either 'in the open air' or, where specifically related to mural painting, 'on fresh plaster'.
- Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio The dramatic line 'Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio' comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet speaks the line in a graveyard, as a meditation on the fragility of life, as he looks at the skull of Yorick. It isn't "I knew him well", but "I knew him Horatio". Yorick was a court jester he had known as a child, and he grieves for him. In this complex speech, which is one of the best known in all dramatic works, Hamlet goes on to consider the fate of us all when he compares the skull to those still living: "let her paint [her face] an inch thick, to this favour [state] she must come” As a child Hamlet found the jester Yorick amusing and entertaining. They used to play and frolic in an intimate but innocent way. Now that Yorick is a stinking corpse the memory of touching him seems revolting and makes Hamlet feel ill.
- Alive and kicking Definitely alive; lively and active.
- All agog To be all agog is to be excited, in high spirits; in eager expectation.
- All and sundry 'All and sundry' means 'every one of'; 'containing all different types'. Our current use of the term sundry items is to mean 'separate items not important enough to be mentioned individually' and that is what people mean when they use the phrase 'all and sundry'. In fact, that's not suite correct. The sundry in this phrase is an older and less often used meaning of sundry, which is 'entirely separate from'. So 'all and sundry' is intended to convey 'all things', those which we have around us, plus those we don't.
- All at sea In a state of confusion and disorder.
- All corners of the world All parts of the world.
- All fingers and thumbs Clumsy, unable to hold things steadily in one's hands. 'All fingers and thumbs' is how we might describe ourselves during a temporary loss of manual dexterity.
- All for naught All for nothing. (Or nothing has been achieved or gained, it was all in vain.)
- All hat and no cattle 'All hat and no cattle' is an American expression referring to someone who is all talk but no action. It is also used to describe someone who presents the appearance of something they aren't. It is similar to the British expression all mouth and no trousers.
- All in all All things having been taken into account.
- All mouth and no trousers 'All mouth and no trousers' means 'loud-mouthed and boastful, but lacking in substance'. The meaning is similar to the American phrase 'all hat and no cattle'
- All of a sudden 'All of a sudden' means suddenly.
- All present and correct Everything, or everyone, is accounted for.
- All singing, all dancing Other phrases: American origin Full of verve and vitality; more recently - with many features or attributes.
- All systems go Other phrases: American origin 'All systems go' is what someone might say when all systems are functional and ready to proceed.
- All that glitters is not gold The proverbial saying 'All that glitters is not gold' means that not everything that is shiny and superficially attractive is valuable.
- All the world's a stage... Life is a play - we merely go through the stages of our life acting it out. The expression is usually shortened to 'All the world's a stage'.
- All things come to those who wait A literal meaning, advocating patience.
- All things must pass Nothing lasts forever.
- All things to all men Able to satisfy everyone's needs.
- All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy The proverbial saying 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' expresses the idea that working constantly and making no time for enjoyment makes one bored and boring.
- All you can eat A restaurant advertising slogan (usually followed by a price).
- All's fair in love and war The proverbial saying 'All's fair in love and war' expresses the idea that, like war, where any strategy is accepted, affairs of the heart are also no-holds-barred contests.
- All's well that ends well The problems and pitfalls of an enterprise are justified and forgotten, so long as everything turns out well in the end.
- Alter ego A second self.
- Always a bridesmaid never a bride Describing someone who frequently comes close to achieving a significant goal but never quite reaches it. (Such as someone who is often a bridesmaid, but never a bride.)
- Am I my brother's keeper? Literal meaning.
- Amber nectar Lager.
- An accident waiting to happen 'An accident waiting to happen' is a person or thing likely to cause trouble or harm because of ongoing carelessness or neglect.
- An Aladdin's Cave In the story of Aladdin, an Aladdin's Cave is a magical cave full of gold, silver, and jewel-bearing trees. In the more commonly used figurative meaning it is a place of great riches, a treasure trove.
- An albatross around one's neck A burden which some unfortunate person has to carry, by way of retribution for doing something wrong.
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away The proverb 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' has a straightforward literal, and very probably correct, meaning - that the eating of fruit maintains good health.
- An arm and a leg A large, possibly exorbitant, amount of money.
- An Englishman's home is his castle The English dictum that a man's home is his refuge.
- An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth The proverb 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' expresses the notion that for every wrong done there should be a compensating measure of justice.
- An ill wind A misfortune.
- An ill-favoured thing sir, but mine own Literal meaning - it may not be good, but it's the best I have to offer.
- An Oxford scholar A dollar.
- Anchors aweigh Said in preparation of getting underway, especially of a ship.
- And shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school
- And thereby hangs a tale Other phrases by: Shakespeare From Shakespeare's As You Like It, 1600. JAQUES: A fool, a fool! I met a fool i' the forest, A motley fool; a miserable world! As I do live by food, I met a fool Who laid him down and bask'd him in the sun, And rail'd on Lady Fortune in good terms, In good set terms and yet a motley fool. 'Good morrow, fool,' quoth I. 'No, sir,' quoth he, 'Call me not fool till heaven hath sent me fortune:' And then he drew a dial from his poke, And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye, Says very wisely, 'It is ten o'clock: Thus we may see,' quoth he, 'how the world wags: 'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine, And after one hour more 'twill be eleven; And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe, And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot; And thereby hangs a tale.' When I did hear The motley fool thus moral on the time, My lungs began to crow like chanticleer, That fools should be so deep-contemplative, And I did laugh sans intermission An hour by his dial. O noble fool! A worthy fool! Motley's the only wear.
- Angry young man Often applied to the British 'kitchen sink' playwrights of the 1950s. Also anyone, particularly young men obviously, who rails against the establishment.
- Ankle-biter A small child. Also applied to small dogs.
- Annus horribilis A horrible year.
- Another day, another dollar The proverbial phrase 'another day, another dollar' is a weary resignation that the day to come will be one of tedious work, the only benefit being the small amount of payment at the end of it.
- Another think coming To have 'another think coming' is to be greatly mistaken. The phrase is usually spoken by an antagonist as 'you have another think coming'; the implication being that one will shortly be obliged to adopt a different viewpoint, either by the presentation of indisputable evidence, or by force.
- Any port in a storm The proverb 'Any port in a storm' suggests that, when in difficulty you need not to seek the perfect solution; any solution will suffice.
- Apple pie order Tidy and well-ordered.
- April fool The victim of a trick played on April 1st, or the trick itself.
- Arms akimbo A stance, with the hands on the hips and elbows directed outwards.
- Ars longa, vita brevis This is one of those rare phrases in which the meaning is more debated than the origin. What is usually understood by 'Ars longa, vita brevis' is something along the lines of 'art lasts forever, but artists die and are forgotten'. That is questioned by some, who say that it is a misinterpretation based on a misunderstanding of the translation of 'ars' as 'art'. If we accept that the Latin term 'ars' is equivalent to the Greek 'techne' and that 'ars' is better translated into English as 'skill' or 'craft', we may opt to interpret the phrase differently. The full quotation, in Latin, is "Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile." This can be rendered into English as 'life is short, the art (craft/skill) long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgement difficult'. That would lead us to interpret the meaning as 'it takes a long time to acquire and perfect one's expertise (in, say, medicine) and one has but a short time in which to do it'. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis was chosen by the 1960s progressive rock band The Nice as the title of their second album. The 'art last forever' meaning of the phrase now makes that look like a poor choice as the album is now largely forgotten.
- Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence is the capacity of machines (usually computers) to exhibit intelligent behaviour.
- Arty-farty Other phrases about: Theatre and entertainment Reduplicated phrases Pertaining to, or having an interest in, the arts - often pretentiously and affectedly so.
- As nice as ninepence Neat, tidy, well-ordered.
- As good luck would have it If something is 'as good luck would have it' it has come about by some fortunate chance.
- As ***** as a nine bob note This expression refers to something that is odd or unusual. It is also used to mean homosexual. Note: In order to adhere to Google's publishing policy the word begining with q and rhyming with cheer has been replaced by *****.
- As above so below What happens in the spiritual and psychic realms is reflected in the earthly realm.
- As alike as two peas in a pod 'Two peas in a pod' are two identical items or people.
- As bald as a coot Completely bald.
- As black as a Newgate's knocker 'As black as Newgate's knocker' means pitch black.
- As bold as brass The simile 'as bold as brass' means 'very bold; blatant.
- As bright as a button Very intelligent and quick to learn.
- As brown as a berry Entirely or very brown; often referring to a suntanned skin.
- As busy as a bee Very busy. Of all creatures, the bee is the most synonymous with busyness.
- As busy as a one-armed paperhanger The simile 'as busy as a one-armed paperhanger' means 'frenetically busy'.
- As cold as ice Extremely cold.
- As cold as stone Very cold.
- As cool as a cucumber 'As cool as a cucumber' means calm and unruffled.
- As cute as a bug's ear Very cute.
- As daft as a brush To be 'as daft as a brush' is to be very stupid or foolish.
- As dead as a dodo Unambiguously and unequivocally dead.
- As dead as a doornail To be 'as dead as a doornail' is to be utterly dead, devoid of life (when applied to people, plants or animals) or finished with, unusable (when applied to inanimate objects).
- As different as chalk and cheese Two things that are very different from each other.
- As easy as pie Very easy.
- As easy as taking candy from a baby Very easy.
- As fine as frog's hair Extremely fine, that is, delicate and slender.
- As fit as a butcher's dog To be as fit as a butcher's dog is to be very fit and bouncing with energy. This follows the same pattern as other 'as X as Y' similes, where Y is the the thing which typically displays the property X. For example, 'as cold as ice'. In the 19th century there was a similar but unrelated expression 'like a butcher's dog' which related to someone who were near to something attractive but weren't allowed to partake in it. That expression has gone out of use.
- As fit as a fiddle To be 'as fit as a fiddle' is to be very fit and well.
- As free as a bird Completely free from constraints, responsibilities, obligations, limitations, or worries.
- As good as gold Well-behaved and obedient.
- As happy as a clam Very happy and content.
- As happy as a sandboy Very happy and content.
- As happy as Larry Very happy.
- As happy as...
- As high as a kite Highly excited, or under the influence of drink or drugs.
- As hot as hell Extremely and uncomfortably hot.
- As keen as mustard Very enthusiastic.
- As light as a feather Extremely lightweight.
- As mad as a hatter Completely mad. This is now commonly understood to mean crazy, although the original meaning is unclear and may have meant annoyed.
- As mad as a March hare To be 'as mad as a March hare' is to be completely mad.
- As merry as the day is long Very merry.
- As old as Methuselah Very old.
- As old as the hills Exceedingly old.
- As pleased as Punch Very pleased.
- As pure as the driven snow Entirely pure.
- As quiet as a mouse To make very little noise, or to be still and silent so as to not make a noise.
- As safe as houses Completely safe and secure.
- As sick as a parrot To be 'as sick as a parrot' is a jocular expression, used to mean someone is highly annoyed or exasperated.
- As smooth as silk Extremely smooth.
- As snug as a bug To be 'as snug as a bug in a rug' is to be very comfortable and cosy.
- As straight as a die Completely straight.
- As straight as an arrow Honest and genuine.
- As strong as an ox Extremely strong, or having exceptional physical strength or health.
- As the crow flies In a direct line, without any of the detours caused by following a road.
- As thick as thieves Close friends with; sharing confidences.
- As thick as two short planks Exceedingly stupid.
- As white as snow Pure white. What better to symbolise whiteness than snow? Not only the intensity of colour on a bright winter's day, but also the purity of untrodden snow is summoned up by the simile. Shakespeare used this association to good effect in as pure as the driven snow.
- As you sow so shall you reap Your deeds, good or bad, will repay you in kind.
- Asap - As soon as possible Literal meaning.
- Ashes to ashes The phrase 'ashes to ashes' expresses the notion that we come from dust and we return to dust.
- Ask a silly question and you'll get a silly answer Literal meaning.
- At loggerheads In dispute with.
- At one fell swoop 'At one fell swoop' means 'suddenly; in a single action'.
- At one's wit's end To be at your wit's end is to be perplexed; unable to think what to do.
- At sixes and sevens To be at sixes and sevens is to be at a state of confusion and disorder, or of disagreement between parties.
- At the speed of light Very fast/quickly or seemingly instantly (or 299,792,458 meters per second).
- Attack is the best form of defence The proverbial phrase 'attack is the best form of defence' expresses the opinion that a pre-emptive strike is the best way to defend yourself. The proverb was coined with military attack in mind but it is now used more widely, in sports and in everyday life. In the USA the proverb is usually expressed as 'the best defense is a good offense'.
- Augur well To foreshadow a successful outcome, indicated by some circumstance or event.
- Auld Lang Syne The Anglicized version of 'auld lang syne', which means old long-since or old long-ago.
- Away with the fairies Not facing reality; in a dream-world.
B
- Baby blues Feelings of depression or anxiety, experienced by some mothers following childbirth.
- Baby boomer A person born during the temporary peak in the birth-rate that occurred in several countries following WWII, notably the USA and the UK.
- Baby father The father of an infant who is not married to or in an exclusive relationship with the mother.
- Back on track Returning to a correct path or normal way of being (literally or metaphorically) after being sidetracked or going off course.
- Back the field Place a bet on all the horses in a race, except one.
- Back to basics A return to previously held values of decency.
- Back to square one 'Back to square one' means back to the beginning; start again.
- Back to the drawing board Other phrases: American origin Start again on a new design or plan after the failure of an earlier attempt.
- Back-seat driver Other phrases: American origin Someone who criticizes from the sidelines.
- Backroom boy One who works in anonymity in an organization while others take on more public roles.
- Backward in coming forward Shy or reluctant to do something. Here 'backward' means shy or unwilling; 'come forward' means present oneself into view.
- Bad hair day A 'bad hair day' originally had a literal meaning - a day on which one's hair seems unmanageable. The expression's meaning has been extended to mean a day when everything seems to go wrong.
- Bad money drives out good The proverbial saying 'bad money drives out good' can be understood literally. It is known as Gresham's Law, which is that money which is labelled as 'bad' will harm the prospects of money that is labelled as 'good'. Of course, we need to know what bad and good money are to understand that (see below). The saying is also used in a wider, non-financial, sense to mean 'bad things/people drive out good things/people'.
- Bad news travels fast The proverbial saying 'bad news travels fast' can be taken literally. In a wider sense it is a comment on human nature being more interested in failure than success.
- Bada-bing 'Bada-bing' is an exclamation suggesting that something is going to happen, easily and predictably - something like 'Hey Presto!'. For emphasis, it is sometimes extended to 'bada-bing-bada-boom'.
- Badger to death Harass or persecute.
- Bag and baggage One's bag and baggage is the sum total of one's possessions.
- Baker's dozen A baker's dozen is 13 (or, more rarely, 14).
- Bale out/bail out There are various meanings of the phrase 'bale-out', including 'making an emergency parachute escape from an aeroplane' and 'ladling water from a boat'.
- Ball and chain A 20th century slang term, meaning wife.
- Balling the jack The US expression 'balling the jack' is used with several meanings: 1. Going fast and energetically, especially of railroad trains. 2. Having a riotously good time, especially by vigorous dancing. 3. Copulating. 4. Risking everything on a single throw of a dice. Note: the similar and earlier term 'having a ball', while meaning much the same as 2, isn't related. This derives from the literal "we will be having a ball (that is, a dance) tonight".
- Ballpark figure A ballpark figure is an estimate, within a reasonable range of accuracy.
- Bang on about Talk repetitively and boringly about something.
- Baptism of fire An ordeal or martyrdom. More recently, a soldier's first experience of battle.
- Bare with me The correct phrase is ‘bear with me’ which means ‘be patient with me’. The phrase ‘bare with me’ literally means ‘uncover with me’ and is not correct for professional purposes.
- Barking mad Insane; intensely mad.
- Barking up the wrong tree Making a mistake or a false assumption in something you are trying to achieve.
- Barmy Army A raucous and undisciplined group.
- Barrel of laughs The source of abundant fun and enjoyment.
- Basket case An infirm or failing person or thing - unable to function properly. Originally this referred to soldiers who had lost arms and legs and had to be carried by others. More recently it has been used to denounce a failing organisation or scheme and is less often applied to people.
- Bated breath Breathing that is subdued because of some emotion or difficulty. 'Waiting with bated breath' is holding your breath in anticipation.
- Bats in the belfry Crazy; eccentric.
- Batten down the hatches Prepare for trouble.
- Battle royal General mayhem; a free-for-all fight.
- BBC Green Book
- Be afraid, be very afraid Ostensibly, a warning that something dangerous is imminent. In reality, this is usually said with comic intent. The thing being warned of is more likely to be mildly unwelcome than actually dangerous; for example, "That fierce librarian was asking about your overdue books - be afraid, be very afraid."
- Be enthralled To be captivated; to be held spellbound by pleasing qualities.
- Be excused Euphemism for 'go to the lavatory'.
- Be still, my beating heart 'Be still, my beating heart' is an expression of excitement when seeing the object of one's romantic affections. Originally, it was used with the swooning earnestness of women's poetry of the Romantic period. Now, it is more often used ironically, about suitors who are indisputably unsuitable.
- Be there or be square Turn up to an event or be boring or no fun and be left out and excluded.
- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken
- Bean counter A disparaging term for an accountant, or anyone excessively concerned with statistical records or accounts.
- Beast with two backs Partners engaged in sexual intercourse.
- Beat a hasty retreat Withdraw rapidly.
- Beat around the bush To prevaricate and avoid coming to the point.
- Beat swords into ploughshares Turn to peaceful pursuits and away from war.
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 'Beauty in the eye of the beholder' has a literal meaning - that the perception of beauty is subjective - what one person finds beautiful another may not.
- Beauty is only skin deep Physical beauty is superficial.
- Beck and call To be at someone's beck and call is to be entirely subservient to them; to be responsive to their slightest request.
- Beef and reef A type of cuisine that combines both meat and seafood (especially lobster and steak), or restaurants that serve such cuisine. See also, surf and turf.
- Beelzebub has a devil for a sideboard A misheard lyric.
- Been there, done that When someone says "been there, done that" they mean that whatever is being talked about is commonplace to them, to the point of boredom.
- Beer goggles Having your 'beer goggles' on means you are sexually attracted to someone, who you wouldn't normally find attractive, because you are drunk.
- Beetle-browed With a furrowed or prominent brow, or worried expression. Formerly, with large or bushy eyebrows.
- Before you could say Jack Robinson In a very short time; suddenly.
- Before your very eyes
- Beg the question This is one of those rare phrases in which the meaning is more debated than the origin. The usage that has become common in recent years has a meaning something along the lines of 'prompt/raise the question', that is, 'beg that the question be asked'. This is usually seen in circumstances where something is described and then an explanation is sought; for example, this piece from a 2003 edition of the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner: What we are saying here is that every 2 days a juvenile is arrested and it begs the question, "What is really happening to our parents?" This usage is understandable and has presumably come about by interpreting the 'beg' of 'beg the question' as 'request' or 'humbly submit'. This is the meaning of the word in the similar phrase 'beg to differ'. The actual meaning is quite different. To 'beg the question' means to talk about a question as though it were true, even though it might not be. This is almost the opposite of the commonly understood 'beg that the question be asked' meaning in that it means 'cause the question not be asked'. In more contemporary language we might call begging the question as a circular argument or a self-fulfilling prophesy. For example, someone might argue that: The soul is immortal. Being immortal it lives forever. Things that live forever cannot die. Therefore the soul cannot die, that is, it is immortal. The above argument begs the question, that is, it assumes it to be true as part of its case for it being true. The expression was coined as a rather over-literal translation of the Latin phrase 'petitio principii'. The Latin version was itself a translation of Greek text 'en archei aiteisthai' taken from Aristotle's Prior Analytics. The phrase was known in English by at least 1581, at which date it was recorded by William Clarke: "Ffiij, I say this is still to begge the question." Beg the question is now so widely misused by almost everyone that it has gone past the point of correcting them. The logical constructs that Aristotle was describing were statements that assume the truth one is attempting to prove. Those might be questions which have an assertion smuggled into them, like 'Why has England fewer trees per acre than any other country in Europe?'. More commonly such statements contain the fallacious reasoning that we now usually call a 'circular argument'; for example, 'He must be speaking the truth because he never lies'. The 'truth' being assumed in advance isn't always so blatant. René Descartes' famous 'I think, therefore I am' can be said to be begging the question as he must exist before he can think - it is hardly a proof of anything to state 'I exist, therefore I am'. If things weren't obscure enough with this phrase there was a version of the meaning that emerged between the two given above. That was its use to mean 'avoid the question'. This presumably also came from a misreading of 'beg' to follow the meaning of 'beggar description' or 'beggar belief'. That meaning of 'beggar', which seems to have been coined by Shakespeare in Anthony and Cleopatra, 1606, is 'exceed the resources of; go beyond': "For her owne person It beggerd all discription." Most authorities now view the current 'raise the question' meaning of 'beg the question' as acceptable, even if that is a somewhat grudging recognition that the weight of numbers of those who use it that way is overwhelming. It is also suggested by some that the minority who know and understand the original version should avoid using it, unless they are amongst consenting adults, as they aren't likely to be understood. That would be an unfortunate route to take. Whatever we might prefer, it is very likely that the percentage of the population that knows, or cares, that they are using the phrase incorrectly will continue to decline.
- Beggar belief To defy or go beyond what is believable.
- Beggars can't be choosers If you request something to be given you should not question what you are given.
- Behind every great man there's a great woman 'Behind every great man there's a great woman' has a straightforward literal meaning. The implication behind the saying is that the great woman is often ignored or taken for granted.
- Behind the eight ball To be 'behind the eight ball' is to be in a difficult position from which it is unlikely you can escape.
- Bell the cat To hang a bell around a cat's neck to provide a warning. Figuratively, the expression refers to any task that is difficult or impossible to achieve.
- Bell, book and candle The phrase 'bell, book and candle' is the final line of an incantation denoting excommunication from the Catholic church.
- Bells and whistles Other phrases: American origin Something that is described as having 'all the bells and whistles' is one fitted with attractive additional features.
- Below par Beneath the normal or expected condition or standard of something. It is frequently used in relation to a person's health or sense of well-being.
- Below the belt An unfair, underhand tactic.
- Below the salt Common or lowly. See also 'beyond the pale'.
- Belt and braces 'Belt and braces' means being careful - taking double measures to avoid risk. It alludes to the use of both belt and braces to hold up a person's trousers.
- Belt up 'Be quiet'. Also, since the introduction of car seat belts - an injunction to fasten one's belt.
- Best bib and tucker One's best clothes.
- Bet your bottom dollar Bet your last coin.
- Better late than never To arrive or do something later than expected isn't good, but it is better than not at all.
- Better safe than sorry It is better and wiser to be cautious and careful rather not be so and feel regretful when the consequences arise. It’s best to prevent unwanted outcomes.
- Better to light a candle than curse the darkness Literal meaning.
- Between a rock and a hard place In difficulty, faced with a choice between two unsatisfactory options.
- Between the Devil and the deep blue sea In difficulty, faced with two dangerous alternatives.
- Between two stools To be 'between two stools' is to fail, due to being unable to choose between two alternatives.
- Between you, me and the bedpost The phrase 'between you, me and the bed-post' is used when divulging a secret; something that only the speaker and the listener should hear.
- Beware of Greeks bearing gifts Don't trust your enemies.
- Beyond a shadow of a doubt If something is said to be 'beyond a shadow of a doubt' the speaker is certain that it is true, with no possibility of ambiguity.
- Beyond belief Outside the range of what is normally considered believable.
- Beyond our ken Beyond our understanding.
- Beyond the pale To be 'beyond the pale' is to be unacceptable; outside agreed standards of decency.
- Big fish in a small pond Other phrases with American origin Someone who is important but only within a limited area of influence.
- Big fleas have little fleas upon their back to bite 'em Everyone is preyed up[on by someone, who in turn has someone preying on them.
- Big wig An important person. Now usually spelled as single word, 'bigwig'.
- Bill Stickers is innocent Play on words, based on 'Bill Stickers...' notices.
- Billy no-mates Someone with no friends.
- Binge drinking Drinking to excess in a short space of time.
- Birds of a feather flock together Those of similar taste congregate in groups.
- Bish-bash-bosh The triplet 'bish-bash-bosh' has two meanings: - A phrase indicating a series of rapid blows. - A phrase indicating that has been done easily and quickly. This second meaning is the more commonly used and is similar to 'job done', 'hey Presto!' or 'bada-bing-bada-boom'. In recent years the single word 'boom' has been used to convey much the same meaning.
- Bish-bosh The reduplicated expression 'bish-bosh' means 'worthless nonsense; trash; foolish talk or opinion'.
- Bite the bullet Accept the inevitable impending hardship and endure the resulting pain with fortitude.
- Bite the dust Fall to the ground, wounded or dead.
- Bite the hand that feeds you "Bite the hand that feeds you" is a proverb that warns against acting ungratefully or harmfully towards someone who is helping or has helped you.
- Black sheep of the family A disreputable or disgraced member of a family.
- Black-on-black Interactions that occur between black people, notably crime that is perpetrated by one black person against another.
- Blast from the past Other phrases with American origin Something or someone that returns after a period of obscurity or absence. It is normally applied to things that that were thought fondly of previously and are making a welcome return - particularly pop songs.
- Blaze a trail Other phrases with American origin To lead the way.
- Bless you 'Bless you!', or sometimes 'God bless you!' or 'God bless!', is a response often said when someone sneezes. It is also used in a direct literal way, to convey a blessing on someone.
- Blessed are the peacemakers The proverbial saying 'blessed are the peacemakers' is from The Bible - Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
- Blind as a bat Having very poor eyesight, or being unwilling to recognise something obvious.
- Blind-man's buff A game, in which a blindfolded player tries to catch others.
- Bling-bling Ostentatious, over-the-top jewellery or dress. Often used to demonstrate the wearer's wealth.
- Blonde bombshell A glamorous blonde.
- Blood and thunder An oath, alluding to mayhem and bloodshed.
- Blood is thicker than water By saying 'blood is thicker than water' we mean that family bonds are closer than those of outsiders. Note: The notion that this expression originally conveyed the idea that soldiers, who shed blood together, are closer than others who don't is speculative and I can't find any evidence to support it.
- Blood, sweat and tears Other Quotations Hard work and effort in difficult circumstances.
- Bloody-minded Tiresome, stubborn and obstructive.
- Blow chunks Vomit.
- Blow the gaff To make public a secret or reveal a plot.
- Blow your mind Expand your mind by use of hallucinatory drugs.
- Blow your own trumpet Act in a boastful, self-promoting manner.
- Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks From Shakespeare's King Lear, 1605: KING LEAR: Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks! You sulphurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder, Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world! Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once, That make ingrateful man!
- Blown to smithereens Disintegrated into small fragments by a sudden impact or explosion.
- Blue blood The blood that which flows in the veins of old and aristocratic families.
- Blue funk Either, in the UK, a state of extreme nervousness or, in the USA, despair.
- Blue-plate special A set meal provided at a reduced price.
- Bob's your uncle 'Bob's your uncle' is an archetypically English phrase and is so familiar here for it to have spawned jokey variants. As 'take the Mickey' has an extended alternative 'extract the Michael', 'Bob's your uncle' is sometimes extended to 'Robert's your auntie's husband'. People in other English speaking countries won't be so familiar with the phrase, so I'll give some examples that may explain the meaning. 'Bob's your uncle' is an exclamation that is used when 'everything is alright' and the simple means of obtaining the successful result is explained. For example, "left over right; right over left, and Bob's your uncle - a reef knot" or, "she slipped the officer £100 and, Bob's your uncle', she was off the charge".
- Bodice ripper A 'Bodice ripper' is a sexually suggestive romantic novel; usually in a historical setting and always with a plot involving the seduction of the heroine.
- Bog standard Things which are 'bog standard' are those which are basic and unrefined - run of the mill.
- Bone dry Completely dry.
- Bone idle Utterly lazy.
- Bone up on To study hard, usually in preparation for a test.
- Booby prize A prize given to make fun of the loser in a contest or game.
- Booby trap A practical joke. Also a concealed and possibly lethal trap.
- Boogie-woogie A style of blues music, with close links to jazz forms like ragtime and stride, usually played on the piano.
- Booze cruise A sea trip from England to continental Europe to buy cheap drink.
- Born again Christians who affirm their renewed and strengthened commitment to their religion are called 'born again'. To be born again is to be 'born of the spirit'; the first birth being the physical birth of the flesh.
- Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth is to be born into a wealthy and privileged family.
- Born within the sound of Bow Bells Literal meaning.
- Boss-eyed Cross-eyed or squinty.
- Bottle out Give up an attempt at something after losing one's nerve.
- Bottom drawer A 'bottom drawer' is a place where valuables are stored, especially clothes, linen, etc. Typically this was the place that a woman might store items in preparation for her marriage. Literally, the lowest drawer of a chest of drawers.
- Bottom-up An approach to organisation or planning that is built up from basic details rather than from a guiding principal or theory. It is a form of organisation often associated with the democratic involvement of many individuals rather than one governed by an individual or small group.
- Bought the farm To die, particularly in an accident or military action.
- Bowl a maiden over To bowl a maiden over is to sweep a woman off her feet with a romantic gesture.
- Box and Cox To take turns.
- Boxing Day The 26th of December, also called St. Stephen's Day. Boxing Day is a public holiday that forms part of the Christmas festivities in most of the countries that were once part of the British Empire. It was originally the first working day after Christmas Day, but is now always celebrated on December 26th, regardless of on which day of the week it falls.
- Boys will be boys The proverbial saying 'boys will be boys' is used to express resignation at, or even encouragement of, the bad behaviour of boys, imagining it to be an inevitable consequence of their gender. The expression is now quite rightly derided as symptomatic of the sexist notion that boys can do what they like and not be required to take responsibility for their actions.
- Brand spanking new Entirely new.
- Brat summer A mindset of feeling confident and proud of how you look and having a happy outlook.
- Break a leg The phrase 'break a leg' is a jovial encouragement, said to actors for good luck before they go on stage, especially on an opening night.
- Break the ice To break down social formality and stiffness.
- Brevity is the soul of wit There's no briefer way of expressing this thought than Shakespeare's; making further explanation redundant.
- Bricks and clicks A sales model that utilizes both traditional stores (bricks) and Internet trading (clicks).
- Bright eyed and bushy tailed Alertly eager, lively, full of energy and enthusiasm.
- Bring home the bacon To earn money, particularly for one's family; to be successful, especially financially successful.
- Bring it on I’m prepared, no matter the challenge. Bring the challenge.
- Broad in the beam Having wide hips or buttocks.
- Bronx cheer A sound of contempt or derision, made by blowing through closed lips, usually with the tongue protruding.
- Browned off To be 'browned off' is to be bored or fed-up.
- Brownie points A notional mark of achievement or kudos for performing some creditable act.
- Brummagem screwdriver A 'Brummagem screwdriver' is a disparaging term for a hammer.
- Bubble and squeak In the 18th century this was a dish of fried meat and cabbage. Nowadays it is more often fried potatoes and other vegetables, usually greens.
- Bucket list A list of things that a person wants to experience or achieve before they die.
- Buckle down Apply oneself to hard work.
- Buggins' turn 'Buggins' turn' is the method of appointing people to positions based on rotation rather than on merit.
- Build a better mousetrap To 'build a better mousetrap' is to make an improvement to an existing product or service. It especially refers to simple and straightforward changes that are obvious advances on earlier devices. The thinking behind the expression 'build a better mousetrap' is made clearer by looking at the full proverbial version, which is - 'build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door'. The notion being expressed is that, in order to make a product or service a success, you don't need hype or marketing - if the product is good enough customers will seek it out.
- Bums on seats The paying audience at a venue with seating, usually a theatre or cinema.
- Bunny boiler An obsessive and dangerous female, in pursuit of a lover who has spurned her.
- Burn the candle at both ends To live at a hectic pace.
- Burning the midnight oil To 'burn the midnight oil' is to work late into the night. Originally this was by the light of an oil lamp or candle. More recently, the phrase is used figuratively, alluding back its use before electric lighting.
- Bury the hatchet Other phrases with American origin To bury the hatchett is to settle your differences with an adversary.
- Bury your head in the sand Refuse to confront or acknowledge a problem.
- Business before pleasure
- But screw your courage to the sticking-place Be steadfast and of good courage.
- But, for my own part, it was Greek to me Other phrases by: Shakespeare It was unintelligible to me.
- Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth Prim and proper, with a cool demeanour
- Butterfingers A name playfully applied to someone who fails to catch a ball or lets something slip from their fingers.
- By and large On the whole; generally speaking; all things considered.
- By dint of By means of; as a result of - especially by the means of force.
- By gum Exclamation of surprise. This is an example of a minced-oath, and is a euphemism for 'By God'.
- By hook or by crook To do something 'by hook or by crook' is to do it by whatever means are necessary - be they fair or foul.
- By the book Correctly; according to the rules.
- By the short hairs To be 'caught/got/held by the short hairs', or in the UK equivalent '... by the short and curlies', is to be trapped by an opponent in a position one can't easily escape from.
- By the skin of your teeth Narrowly; barely. Usually used in regard to a narrow escape from a disaster.
C
- C'est la vie That’s life. (Or in other words, ‘This is how it is’ or ‘such is life’.)
- Caesar Salad The name of a salad typically consisting of cos lettuce, garlic, croutons and anchovies, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
- Call a spade a spade To call a spade a spade is to speak plainly - to describe something as it really is.
- Can't be overestimated/Can't be underestimated - which one to use?
- Canteen culture Other phrases about: Business and work Houses and buildings The colloquial name for the conservative and discriminatory attitudes held by some sections of the British police forces.
- Canterbury pace The pace of mounted pilgrims.
- Carbon copy Other phrases with American origin An exact duplicate.
- Carbon footprint The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted during an industrial or domestic process; a measure of how that process contributes toward global warming.
- Card-sharp Someone who is skilful at playing or manipulating cards, or one who makes a living by cheating at cards.
- Carnal Knowledge Euphemism for sexual intercourse.
- Carpe diem 'Carpe diem' is usually translated from the Latin as 'seize the day'. However, the more pedantic of Latin scholars may very well seize you by the throat if you suggest that translation. 'Carpe' translates literally as 'pluck', with particular reference to the picking of fruit, so a more accurate rendition is 'enjoy the day, pluck the day when it is ripe'. The extended version of the phrase 'carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero' translates as 'pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the future'. 'Pluck the day' is the correct translation, but I've never heard that spoken in the wild. 'Carpe diem' isn't understood by everyone but it is widely used. This might explain why there are more Google searches for this little expression that bring people to this website than there are for any other phrase. The meaning is similar to that of many proverbs that we continue to use in English and is an encouragement to make good use of our time. The implication being that our time on Earth is short and we should make good use of it. Other such proverbs are: Strike while the iron is hot. The early bird catches the worm. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may', and so on.
- Carry coals to Newcastle To carry coals to Newcastle is to undertake something which is both unnecessary and pointless.
- Carry the world before you
- Carte blanche Having free rein to choose whatever course of action you want.
- Cash on the nail Payment made immediately.
- Cat burglar A 'Cat burglar' is a burglar who enters buildings by extraordinarily skilful feats of climbing.
- Cat got your tongue? 'Has the cat got your tongue' is a light-hearted question addressed to someone who is inexplicably silent.
- Cat's Cradle A box-like shape which is made by from twisting a loop of string around their fingers. It is usually played by two players, although some variations may be played by one.
- Catch 22 'Catch-22' is a paradox in which the attempt to escape makes escape impossible.
- Catch air To make a jump (usually in board sports or extreme sports).
- Caught red-handed To be caught red-handed is to be caught in the act of committing a misdemeanour, with the evidence there for all to see.
- Chaise lounge A 'chaise lounge' is the American name of a form of sofa with a backrest at one end only. Elsewhere these sofas are called chaise longues.
- Champ at the bit Be restless and impatient to commence; especially during an unwelcome delay.
- Chance would be a fine thing There is not much chance of that [thing], welcome though it would be.
- Charity begins at home The proverb 'charity begins at home' expresses the overriding demand to take care of one's family, before caring for others.
- Charley horse Other phrases with American origin A Charley horse is the name for leg cramp or stiffness.
- Charm offensive Other phrases with American origin A publicity campaign, usually by politicians, that attempts to emphasize their charisma or trustworthiness.
- Cheap at half the price Of uncertain meaning - see below.
- Cheapskate A mean or despicable person. Cheapskate is one of the numerous scornful terms for someone who has' short arms and long pockets', that is, someone who is reluctant to spend money or pay their fair share. They are otherwise known as misers, pikers, scrooges, skinflints, tight-wads or penny-pinchers.
- Cheek by jowl Side by side; in close or intimate proximity
- Cherchez la femme The translation from the French is "look for/seek the woman". It is used when a man behaves unusually or gets into a quarrel or other difficulty and the reason for it is sought.
- Chew the cud To 'chew the cud', in a literal sense, is for ruminant animals to masticate regurgitated food. In a metaphorical sense it is, for humans, to chat in an aimless manner.
- Chick flick A film with characterization and story-lines that appeal especially to women.
- Children should be seen and not heard Literal meaning.
- Chinese whispers Inaccurately transmitted gossip. 'Chinese whispers' refers to a sequence of repetitions of a story, each one differing slightly from the original, so that the final telling bears only a scant resemblance to the original.
- Chinless wonder A member of the upper classes - usually male.
- Chip on your shoulder A 'chip on your shoulder' is a perceived grievance or sense of inferiority.
- Chit-chat Casual small-talk or gossip.
- Chock-a-block Crammed so tightly together as to prevent movement.
- Chop and change To change one's mind or action again and again.
- Chop-chop Be quick; hurry up.
- Chow down To chow down is to sit down to eat - similar in meaning to the British term 'tuck in'.
- Clean as a whistle Completely and thoroughly.
- Cleanliness is next to godliness The proverb 'cleanliness is next to godliness' expresses the idea that those who are pure and wholesome are close to God. When the proverb was put forward, in the 17th century, cleanliness (or clenlynesse or cleanlines as it was spelled then) referred to both moral purity and to personal hygiene.
- Clear blue water Other phrases with American origin Originally a term from competitive rowing referring to an obvious gap between the leading boat and those following. In more recent years it has been used allusively to mean the discernible distance between the ideologies of two political parties.
- Cliff-hanger Other phrases with American origin A story or situation in which the main consideration is one of suspense.
- Cloak and dagger Concerned with, or characteristic of espionage or intrigue, especially in the context of drama.
- Clod-hopper A rough, unsophisticated countryman.
- Clog up To clog up is to become obstructed. For example: 'The leaves clogged up the drain' . 'The heavy traffic made the roads clog up'.
- Close quarters Close contact with, especially in a military context - close contact with the enemy.
- Close your eyes and think of England 'Close your eyes and think of England' is a reference to unwanted sexual intercourse - specifically advice to an unwilling wife when sexually approached by her husband.
- Close, but no cigar Other phrases with American origin The expression 'close but no cigar' is used to indicate that someone has fallen just short of a successful outcome and failed to secure any reward.
- Cloth ears 'Cloth ears' is a rebuke directed at a person who fails to hear something that is said to them. The expression is usually delivered with disparaging or humorous tone - "Oi, cloth ears, can't you hear me?"
- Cloud-cuckoo-land A realm of fanciful or impractical, idealistic notions.
- Club sandwich Other phrases with American origin A club sandwich is a sandwich of bread, sometimes toasted, and several other ingredients, often chicken or turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. The sandwiches are usually cut into halves or quarters to form small triangles.
- Clutch at straws Try any route to get out of a desperate situation, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed.
- Coat of many colours The phrase 'coat of many colours' originated in the Bible, Genesis 37:3 (King James Version): Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. Genesis 37:23: And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; Genesis 37:32: And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. The expression 'coat of many colours' was the source of the text of the 1960s musical Joseph and his Amazing Tecnicolour Dreamcoat, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Coat of many colours From the Bible, Genesis 37:3 (King James Version): Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. Genesis 37:23: And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; Genesis 37:32: And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
- Cock a snook A derisive gesture formed by holding one's thumb to one's nose and waggling the fingers. It is otherwise known as 'thumbing one's nose'.
- Cock-a-hoop In a state of exuberant elation.
- Cock-sure Certain. This term has been used in many ways, all with different but related meanings; for example, 'absolutely sure or safe', 'completely dependable', 'sure in one's own mind', etc. The common thread through all of these is certainty.
- Cockney Rhyming Slang A type of slang in which words are replaced by words or phrases they rhyme with.
- Cogito, ergo sum Other Quotations Usually translated from the Latin as 'I think, therefore I am'.
- Coin a phrase Other phrases with American origin To create a new phrase.
- Cold comfort Slight consolation or encouragement in the face of a reverse.
- Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey If it's said to be 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' it is very cold indeed. This expression, which is normally used in relation to the weather is also known by the derivative phrase - brass monkey weather.
- Cold feet To 'get cold feet' is to become disheartened or timid, losing one's previous enthusiasm or courage.
- Cold shoulder A display of coldness or indifference, intended to wound.
- Cold turkey The sudden and complete withdrawal from an addictive substance and/or the physiological effects of such a withdrawal. Also, predominantly in the U.S.A., plain speaking.
- Colder than a witch's tit 'Colder than a witch's tit' is an expressive way of saying 'very cold' - usually in reference to the weather.
- Collateral Damage Unintended civilian casualties or damage in a war.
- Colour up To colour up is to blush or turn red in the face.
- Come a cropper Fall over or fail at some venture.
- Come clean To make a full disclosure; to confess.
- Come on down Other phrases with American origin The catchphrase used to invite audience members to the stage to become contestants in game shows.
- Come the three corners of the world in arms From Shakespeare's King John, 1595: Now these her princes are come home again, Come the three corners of the world in arms, And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue, If England to itself do rest but true.
- Come to a sticky end 'Come to a sticky end' is used to mean come to a grim, violent fate or an unpleasant demise.
- Come up trumps To complete something well or successfully, especially in circumstances in which it isn't expected.
- Come what come may Let whatever events crop up come to pass.
- Coming down the pike Something is going to happen in the future (or soon or over time). (Or change is coming.)
- Common sense Good practical sense. The natural intelligence that is believed to be available to all rational people.
- Comparisons are odious Literal meaning.
- Compassion fatigue A weariness of and diminishing public response to frequent requests for charity.
- Cookie cutter Originally, a utensil for cutting shaped pieces out of dough. More recently, characterising a lack of originality.
- Cooking the books The deliberate distorting of a firm's financial accounts, often with the aim of avoiding the payment of tax.
- Cool Britannia Used to describe the contemporary culture of the United Kingdom, primarily during the 1990s.
- Cop an attitude Adopt an aggressive or antagonistic bearing.
- Copper-bottomed A thing that is copper-bottomed, whether it be an object or an idea, is genuine; trustworthy; unlikely to fail.
- Cor blimey 'Cor blimey' is an exclamation of surprise.
- Cordon bleu The rating of 'Cordon bleu' is an indication of high quality, especially of cooking.
- Cotton on to To get to know or understand something.
- Cotton-picking Other phrases with American origin 'Cotton-picking' ia an intensifier, used as a general term of disapproval. A substitute for the word 'damned'.
- Counting sheep Counting sheep is a distraction technique used to help people get to sleep. The mental distraction of imagining a field of sheep and counting them is intended to distract insomniacs from fretting about being awake and relax into sleep.
- Country bumpkin An awkward, unsophisticated rustic; a clown
- Cowards may die many times before their deaths
- Crackpot A crazy person; a crank.
- Crime doesn't pay The proverbial saying 'crime doesn't pay' is the view that punishment rather than profit is the ultimate consequence of crime.
- Crinkum-crankum Other Reduplicated phrases A 'crinkum-crankum' thing is something full of twists and turns; something intricately or fancifully constructed, winding intricately and sinuously. The convoluted drawings of M. C. Escher could be described as 'crinkum-crankum'.
- Criss-cross 'Criss-cross' refers to a pattern of intersecting lines, either two lines or many.
- Crocodile tears To weep crocodile tears is to put on an insincere show of sorrow.
- Crop up To emerge or occur incidentally or unexpectedly.
- Cross that bridge when you come to it "Cross that bridge when you come to it" is an idiom suggesting that one should not worry about potential problems or challenges until they actually occur.
- Crown jewels Literally, the Crown Jewels are the state jewellery of the United Kingdom. In a figurative sense 'the crown jewels' is a slang term for the male genitalia.
- Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war The military order Havoc! was a signal given to the English military forces in the Middle Ages to direct the soldiery (in Shakespeare's parlance 'the dogs of war') to pillage and chaos. The 'let slip' is an allusion to the slip collars that were used to restrain dogs and were easily 'let slip' to allow the dogs to run and hunt.
- Cuckoo for cocoa puffs Excited, irrational, crazy or insane.
- Curiosity killed the cat Inquisitiveness can lead one into dangerous situations.
- Curry favour To curry favour is to attempt to gain benefit or ingratiate oneself, by officious courtesy or flattery.
- Cut and run Run away.
- Cut of your jib One's general appearance and demeanour.
- Cut off without a penny Disinherited.
- Cut off your nose to spite your face To 'cut off your nose to spite your face' is to disadvantage yourself in order to do harm to an adversary. For example, a restauranteur might refuse to serve bankers because he disapproves of money-lending. He would harm the bankers slightly by this by inconveniencing them, but harm himself also by the loss of business. The expression is often used as proverbial advice "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face". That is "don't do something to harm your enemies and end up harming yourself".
- Cut the mustard To succeed; to come up to expectations.
- Cut to the chase Other phrases with American origin Get to the point - leaving out unnecessary preamble.
D
- Damp squib A 'damp squib' is something that fails ignominiously to satisfy expectations; an anti-climax, a disappointment.
- Dance attendance on To wait upon someone in an overly assiduous or sycophantic manner.
- Darby and Joan 'Darby and Joan' are an archetypal elderly couple. The phrase is used as a general term for old age.
- Dash to pieces Break into fragments.
- Date rape Rape by an acquaintance during a social engagement.
- Davy Jones' locker The bottom of the sea; the mythical resting place of drowned mariners.
- Daylight robbery Unfair overcharging which is so blatant the perpetrators make no attempt to conceal it.
- Dead cat bounce A dead cat bounce is a small and temporary recovery in a financial market following a large fall.
- Dead in the water A dead in the water ship is one that is motionless and without power. The figurative expression 'dead in the water' means 'unable to function; without hope of future success; doomed'.
- Dead to rights In the act of committing an error/crime/offence/mistake. (Or in an undeniably incriminating situation.)
- Delusions of grandeur A false and exaggerated belief about one's status or importance. Delusions of grandeur are often considered to be synonymous with megalomania. While the two conditions are somewhat similar, psychiatrists might make the distinction that megalomania - a self-important preoccupation with power and control - isn't necessarily delusional. Fascist dictators like Hitler show clear signs of megalomania, but may not be delusional.
- Derring-do Heroic daring.
- Designer stubble Other phrases with American origin A short growth of beard, aimed to affect a rugged masculine or deliberately unkempt appearance.
- Deus ex machina Something or someone that comes in the nick of time to solve a difficulty, especially in works of fiction.
- Die-hard A person who holds stubbornly to a minority view, in defiance of the circumstances.
- Different strokes for different folks Different ways of doing things are appropriate for different people.
- Differently abled To be 'differently abled' is to be physically or mentally handicapped or disabled but to show qualities that the able-bodied do not have. The expression is intended to avoid the perceived negative connotations of the prefix 'dis' in disabled.
- Dilly-dally Other Reduplicated phrases To 'dilly-dally' is to be indecisive; vacillating and making no advance.
- Dirt bag Other phrases with American origin Originally a bag or sack with dirt in it. More recently a reference to an unkempt or slovenly person, often used as an insult.
- Discretion is the better part of valour Literal meaning.
- Do unto others as you would have them do to you Literal meaning.
- Do your business Euphemism for defecation.
- Dock your pay Make a deduction from a person's pay.
- Doesn't know shit from Shinola Other phrases with American origin Someone might be said not to know shit from Shinola if they display poor judgment or knowledge.
- Doff your hat To doff your hat is to raise your hat in acknowledgement of or deference to another.
- Dog days Other phrases about: Dogs The 'dog days' are the very hot days during July and August.
- Dog in the manger Other phrases about: Dogs To have a dog in the manger attitude is to be spiteful and mean-spirited.
- Dog with a bone Stubborn, persistent and unyielding, with determination or single-minded focus on a particular objective.
- Dog's bollocks Other phrases about: Dogs Excellent - the absolute apex. In other contexts the word bollocks (meaning testicles) has a negative connotation; for example: - 'that's bollocks' -> 'that's rubbish' - 'give him a bollocking' -> 'chastise him' - 'He dropped a bollock' -> 'he made a mistake' The reasons why the 'dog's bollocks' are considered to be the top of the tree aren't clear. It may be linked to an associated phrase - 'stand out like a dog's balls', that is, 'outstanding', although I can find no evidence to indicate that phrase as being earlier than the 'dog's bollocks'. Dogs do enjoy licking their genitals of course but again, there's no evidence that links the coining of this phrase to that. It is most likely that this is just a nonsense phrase, coined because it sounds good. In that, it would join a long list of earlier nonsense phrases, e.g. 'the cat's pyjamas', 'the bee's knees' etc.
- Dog's breakfast A confused mess or muddle.
- Dog's dinner The expression 'dog's dinner' has several meanings: - The literal, 'what a dog eats at dinnertime'. - The figurative, 'confused mess or muddle' - similar to a dog's breakfast. - Dressed or displayed in an ostentatiously smart manner.
- Dollars to doughnuts An outcome that is almost assured; a certainty.
- Don't bite off more than you can chew "Don't bite off more than you can chew" is an idiom advising against taking on more responsibilities or commitments than one can manage
- Don't burn your bridges
- Don't call us, we'll call you Other phrases with American origin Don't bother to pursue your application further.
- Don't change horses in midstream Don't change your leader or your basic position when part-way through a campaign or a project .
- Don't count your chickens before they are hatched Don't be hasty in evaluating one's assets.
- Don't get mad, get even The proverbial saying 'don't get mad, get even' means that, when suffering a loss at the hands of another, don't waste your energy on anger but work towards redressing the harm done. The sentiment is similar to another proverb - revenge is a dish best served cold.
- Don't go there I don't want to discuss that.
- Don't keep a dog and bark yourself The proverbial saying 'don't keep a dog and bark yourself' is advice that you should not pay someone to do a task and then do it yourself.
- Don't let the bastards grind you down The meaning of this proverbial saying is self evident.
- Don't let the grass grow under your feet The proverbial saying 'don't let the grass grow under your feet' means don't delay in seizing an opportunity.
- Don't look a gift horse in the mouth The proverbial saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' means don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift.
- Don't shut the stable door after the horse has bolted Don't waste time taking precautions when the damage has already been done.
- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater Don't discard something valuable along with something undesirable.
- Don't try to teach your Grandma to suck eggs Don't offer advice to someone who has more experience than oneself.
- Don't wash your dirty linen in public The proverbial saying 'Don't wash your dirty linen in public' advises us to avoid making personal matters, which those involved may consider private or embarassing, public. In the USA, the 'air your dirty washing in public' variant is often used.
- Done a runner Left in a hurry.
- Done and dusted Completely finished or decided.
- Done to a turn Cooked just right.
- Donkey work Hard work; the least attractive part of any project.
- Donkey's years A very long time.
- Doom and gloom A feeling of pessimism and despondency, often with regard to business or political prospects.
- Double cross An act of treachery, perpetrated on a previous partner in a deceit.
- Double Dutch Nonsense; gibberish - a language one cannot understand.
- Double Entendre A figure of speech in which a phrase can be understood in two ways - one of them risqué. Commonly used to convey sexual puns.
- Double standard A double standard is a rule which is applied more strictly to one group than to another. Such inconsistency of the application of rules may occur in regard to race or the legal system, but is especially used to describe the more strict standard of sexual behaviour expected of women than what is required of men.
- Double whammy A double blow or setback.
- Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn, and cauldron bubble From Shakespeare's Macbeth, 1605. The line is from the celebrated Witches Song, where the three hags sit around a boiling cauldron summoning up an enchantment on Macbeth: Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witches' mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew Silver'd in the moon's eclipse, Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips, Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver'd by a drab, Make the gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For the ingredients of our cauldron. Shakespeare, whose plays relied heavily on rhyme, was clearly enjoying himself with the rich rhyming of the four-accented lines: Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. The poem uses repetition, simple rhyming couplets, alliteration (lizard's leg, gall of goat etc.) and imagery to conjure up a dreamlike atmosphere. See other - phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.
- Down at heel Impoverished.
- Down in the dumps Unhappy; depressed.
- Down the pan If something has gone 'down the pan' it is wasted and unrecoverable.
- Down the tubes Wasted and unrecoverable.
- Down to the wire Other phrases with American origin Referring to the decisive moment at the very end of a close contest.
- Drag race A race between road vehicles - usually two vehicles over a quarter mile straight track and from a standing start. The race is essentially a competition to determine which vehicle has the greater acceleration.
- Draw a blank To fail to recall a memory or fail in some speculative effort.
- Dreams of empire The aimless longing for glory.
- Dressed to the nines To be 'dressed to the nines' is to be dressed flamboyantly or smartly.
- Drink like a fish To 'drink like a fish' is to drink heavily, especially of alcoholic drink.
- Driving while black An ironic name for the non-existent crime of being a black driver.
- Drop-dead Gorgeous Breathtakingly beautiful.
- Dropping like flies Falling down ill or dead in large numbers.
- Drummed out of the army To be drummed out of the army is to be dismissed from service to the sound of a drum. More widely, 'drummed out' just means removed from office.
- Duly noted Something has been properly acknowledged and taken into account.
- Dumb blonde A conspicuously attractive but stupid blonde woman.
- Dutch courage Confidence gained from being drunk.
- Duvet day A duvet day is a paid day's work in which the employee is allowed to stay at home for rest and relaxation.
E
- Ear candy Other phrases with American origin Music with an instant appeal but with little lasting significance.
- Ear-mark To set aside for a particular purpose.
- Early to bed and early to rise makes and man healthy, wealthy and wise Literal meaning.
- East, west, home's best This proverbial saying express the idea that, wherever you travel in the world, your home is the best place to be. It is a restating of the more familiar 'there's no place like home'.
- Easy-peasy Easy-peasy means very easy and simple, mostly used by children and sometimes elongated to 'easy-peasy lemon squeezy'.
- Eat drink and be merry From the Bible, Ecclesiastes VIII 15 (King James Version): To eat, and to drink, and to be merry. See also: the List of Proverbs.
- Eat humble pie Act submissively and apologetically, especially in admitting an error.
- Eat like a horse Eat a large amount of food or have a substantial appetite.
- Eaten out of house and home This is one of the phrases that, while having been long attributed to Shakespeare, was in fact used earlier by others and has now been demoted to 'popularised by' rather than 'coined by' the bard. There is a definition of the expression in Thomas Cooper's glossary Thesaurus Linguae Romanae Britannicae, 1578: To eate out of house and home: to waste and consume his substance, money etc. Shakespeare picked this up in Henry IV Part II, 1597: MISTRESS QUICKLY: It is more than for some, my lord; it is for all, all I have. He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his: but I will have some of it out again, or I will ride thee o' nights like the mare. The expression 'house and home' denoting a person's (that is, a man's) dwelling place dates back to the beginnings of the language and is used in many contexts. It appears in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1129. See other - phrases and sayings from Shakespeare.
- Economical with the truth Conveying an untrue version of events by leaving out the important facts. A euphemism for lying, in short.
- Eeny, meeny, miny, mo The first line of a popular children's counting rhyme.
- Eff off Euphemistic version of 'fuck off'.
- Egg on To egg someone on is to encourage them and urge them forward.
- Eighty six Other phrases with American origin This little term originally meant that a restaurant had run out of an item that was on the menu. Another meaning, which was adopted later, is an indication that something be got rid of, for example an unwelcome customer at a bar or restaurant. It seems likely that the second meaning developed from the first.
- Elbow grease Energetic labour.
- Elementary my dear Watson The supposed explanation that Sherlock Holmes gave to his assistant, Dr. Watson, when explaining deductions he had made.
- Elevator Pitch
- Elvis has left the building The expression 'Elvis has left the building' was originally a literal announcement that Elvis Presely had left after a show. It later took on a more general meaning of 'the show is over; there's nothing more to see'.
- Emotional wreck Someone who is or was feeling very sad, or desperate because of something bad that has happened to them. Someone who has lost control of their emotions and has become unstable and unable to function.
- Empty shell of a person Someone who seems (or feels) empty inside, retaining only an outward appearance. (Usually meaning devoid of emotions, personality, or purpose. Like an empty husk or vacant shell.)
- End of story The talking is over - there's no more to be said.
- Enough is enough To get Enough is enough is to come off worst in a bargain or contest.
- Et tu, Brute "Et tu Brute" are supposedly the dying words of Julius Caesar. They translate from Latin as 'You too, Brutus?'.
- Ethnic cleansing The expression 'ethnic cleansing' is a euphemism for the ruthless removal or killing of an ethnic or religious group from areas that have been taken over by opposing forces.
- Even a worm will turn Even the humblest and weakest will retaliate if provoked sufficiently.
- Even at the turning of the tide The 'turning of the tide' is literally the change of the tide from incoming to outgoing, or vice-versa. Normally the phrase is used to denote some change from a previously stable course of events.
- Every cloud has a silver lining The proverbial saying 'every cloud has a silver lining' is used to convey the notion that, no matter how bad a situation might seem, there is always some good aspect to it. This expression is usually said as an encouragement to a person who is overcome by some difficulty and is unable to see any positive way forward. It is a classic of the Victorian 'despair not; strive for better things' sentiment.
- Every dog has its day Every dog, and by implication every person, has a period of power or influence.
- Everybody out An injunction to workers to 'down tools' come out on strike.
- Exceedingly well read To be 'well read' is to be erudite and literate.
- Excuse my French Please forgive my swearing.
- Extraordinary rendition A procedure whereby criminal suspects are sent for interrogation from one country to a second country, where less strict laws governing interrogation apply.
- Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog The archetypal recipe for spells and enchantments.
F
- Face the music Face the music means accept the unpleasant consequences of one's actions.
- Faff about Dither ineffectually.
- Fag end The remnant of something, especially the part left after the best part has been used.
- Failing to plan is planning to fail Literal meaning .
- Faint of heart Lacking courage and afraid to take on risks or challenges.
- Fair and square Honest and straightforward, especially of business dealings.
- Fair dinkum Honest; genuine; fair play.
- Fair exchange is no robbery An exchange of two things of equal value is a reasonable and honest trade.
- Fair play 'Fair play' is the properly conducted conditions for a game, giving all participants an equal chance. The expression is also used more widely to mean fairness and justice in contexts other than games.
- Fair to middling/Fair to Midland Slightly above average.
- Fairy-tale ending A perfect, joyful and simplistic ending to a story, like those often found in fairy tales.
- Fait accompli An accomplished fact; an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it.
- Faith will move mountains Faith is immensely powerful.
- Fall asleep 'Fall asleep' is a euphemism for 'die'.
- Fall from grace To fall from position of high esteem.
- Fall guy A scapegoat; one who takes on the responsibilities or workload of others. Here 'fall' is used with the criminal slang meaning of 'arrest' or 'period in prison'. More recently, it has also come to mean a person who is easily duped or outmanoeuvred.
- Fall on your sword To 'fall on your sword' is, literally, to commit suicide or, figuratively, to offer your resignation.
- Familiarity breeds contempt The proverbial saying 'familiarity breeds contempt' express the idea that a close long-term relationship with a person or situation brings about feelings of boredom or lack of respect.
- Famous last words 'Famous last words' might be used ironically when a remark or prediction is likely to be proved wrong by events. No one is suggesting that death might be the result, merely a mild inconvenience. For example: "It doesn't look like rain. I'll not bother with an umbrella." "Famous last words..."
- Fancy free Other phrases by: Shakespeare To be 'fancy free' is to be without any ties or commitments.
- Fancy-pants Overly elaborate, swanky or pretentious - especially of dress. Also applied to people who act in that manner.
- Far be it from me A disassociation from something - 'God forbid that I should... ' [do that thing].
- Far from the madding crowd A quiet and rural place.
- Farmers Haemorrhoids. Haemorrhoids -> piles -> Farmer Giles -> Farmers.
- Fashion statement An item someone wears to draw attention to themselves. (Usually an unusual or eccentric item.)
- Fashion victim Someone who slavishly follows fashion trends.
- Fast Stable and firmly fixed in place; not easily moved.
- Fast asleep Soundly asleep.
- Fatal attraction When what causes an attraction to someone also causes the end of the relationship. (Usually marked by an intense or obsessive infatuation with the person in question.)
- Fathom out To ascertain something; to deduce from the facts.
- Fed up To have had more than enough of something or someone, or to be bored with or tired of the same.
- Feeding frenzy An aggressive attack on prey by a group of sharks or other predators. The resulting boiling and bloody sea results in the sharks wildly attacking any creature nearby - even their own kind.
- Fell off the back of a truck A euphemism for 'acquired illegally'.
- Fellow traveller Someone sympathetic toward a certain point of view without being a fully paid-up member of the club.
- Felt his collar The expression 'felt his collar' is a slang referring to the arrest of a criminal. The specific reference is to the grabbing of a criminal from behind after a chase.
- Fend for yourself To 'fend for yourself' is to provide for yourself - to be able to cope with whatever life throws at you. The expression is usually applied to youngsters, animal or human, who have previously been taken care of by their parents.
- Fend off To 'fend off' is to resist; to keep (someone or something) from coming near.
- Fever pitch A state of intense excitement.
- Fiddlesticks An exclamation made to indicate "nonsense; rubbish".
- Fiddling while Rome burns To occupy oneself with unimportant matters and neglect priorities during a crisis.
- Fie, fih, foh, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman A nonsense rhyme, usually heard as part of the Jack The Giant Killer fable.
- Field day A day of excitement or a circumstance of opportunity.
- Fifteen minutes of fame This is a well-known as a quotation from Andy Warhol. It does derive from Warhol - his actual line was "In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.".
- Fifth column Infiltrators or collaborators with the enemy.
- Fifth estate The fifth power in the land.
- Fight fire with fire Respond to an attack by using a similar method as one's attacker.
- Fight the good fight An evangelical call to believe in and spread the Christian faith.
- Filthy rich Very rich, possibly having become so by unfair means.
- Fine words butter no parsnips The proverb 'Fine words butter no parsnips' means that nothing concrete is achieved by empty words or flattery.
- Finger lickin' good Excellent - especially of food. Known primarily as the slogan of the KFC food chain.
- First dibs 'First dibs' is an exclamation that is used, primarily by children but also by adults, to establish a claim on something. The first person to call out 'dibs' or 'first dibs' has the option on the first use or the ownership of the item claimed.
- First water - Of the Of the highest quality.
- First World Originally the term referred just to the USA (see origin below), but now is understood to mean the most industrially developed, wealthy and powerful nations of the world. These countries are often referred to loosely as 'The West', although the First World certainly includes Japan and Australia.
- Fish or cut bait Other phrases with American origin There is some uncertainty about the precise meaning of this phrase. Some use it to mean 'make a choice about what you intend to do'; others have it that it means 'either get to work in a productive manner or do something else and let someone else work'. The second meaning, which I favour, and which is more common, is similar in meaning to 'put up or shut up', or the 20th century US vulgarism 's*** or get off the pot'.
- Fits and starts Spasmodically; at irregular intervals.
- Fits like a glove To fit perfectly, whether in size, shape, or suitability.
- Five finger discount Theft. (Usually in reference to the shoplifting of one or more small items.)
- Five o'clock shadow Other phrases with American origin Beard regrowth that darkens a man's features late in the day, following a morning shave.
- Fixer-upper A property or item that is in need of repair and is offered for sale at a low price.
- Flash in the pan Something which disappoints by failing to deliver anything of value, despite a showy beginning.
- Flat out Using all of one's efforts; at top speed.
- Flavor of the month Something that is prominent in the public eye for a short time then fades out of interest. Originally a term of approval for something that was up to the minute and desirable. It has been used ironically from the late 20th century to pass disdainful comment on things which pass out of fashion quickly; for example, the "one hit wonders" of the music business.
- Flesh and blood One's flesh and blood may refer to one's family, or may denote all mankind. It is also used to denote the living material of which people are mostly composed.
- Flogging a dead horse To flog a dead horse is to attempt to revive an interest which has died out; to engage in fruitless effort.
- Flotsam and jetsam Ships' goods which are lost at sea. Also used figuratively in non-nautical contexts to means odds and ends, bits and pieces
- Fly by the seat of your pants To 'fly by the seat of your pants' is to decide a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a predetermined plan or mechanical aids.
- Fly off the handle Other phrases with American origin Lose self control.
- Fly on the wall Alludes to the position of being able to freely observe a situation without being oneself noticed.
- Fly-by-night A 'fly-by-night' is someone who attempts to evade responsibilities or debts by absconding under cover of darkness. Typically, this may be covertly moving out pf a property to avoid paying the rent. More generally, 'fly-by-night' is applied to any person or business of a poor 'here today; gone tomorrow' reputation.
- Foam at the mouth Display furious rage.
- Fob off To put off deceitfully; to attempt to satisfy with something of inferior quality or something less than one has been led to expect.
- Fool's errand A pointless undertaking.
- Fools rush in where angels fear to tread The rash or inexperienced will attempt things that wiser people are more cautious of.
- Fools' gold The name given to iron pyrites, which looks a little like gold but is worthless.
- For all intents and purposes In effect; for all practical purposes.
- For crying out loud For Christ's sake.
- For ever and a day Indefinitely.
- For every thing there is a season There is an appropriate time for everything.
- For good measure As an additional extra.
- For keeps Play to keep the winnings. Also, more generally, especially in America, 'in deadly earnest; in such a way that the result will stand'.
- For Pete's sake Frustration, exasperation or annoyance.
- For the birds Other phrases with American origin Animals Trivial; worthless; only of interest to gullible people.
- For whom the bell tolls 'For whom the bell tolls' is a quotation from a work by John Donne, in which he explores the interconnectedness of humanity.
- Forbidden fruit A prohibited article.
- Forewarned is forearmed Advance warning provides an advantage.
- Forgive them for they know not what they do 'Forgive them for they know not what they do' are reported as Jesus' words from the cross, asking forgiveness for those who put him to death. More widely, of course, the plea was for all humanity.
- Fork out To 'fork out' is to hand over a sum of money. The expression is often used when the payee is rather unwilling to pay a large amount. For example, "I had to fork out £200 to repair the scratch my daughter made on the car".
- Forlorn hope A hopeless or desperate enterprise.
- Forty winks 'Forty winks' is a short sleep during the day, often in non-typical sleep locations, like a train or an office desk. The expression is frequently used with humorous irony. For instance, someone might jokingly claim to have had 'forty winks' when in fact they had been asleep for some time. This is similar to the "I was just resting my eyes" when waking from a nap or "I'm just off to the pub for a swift half" before embarking on a drinking session.
- Foul play Dishonest or treacherous behaviour; also violent conduct.
- Four by two Jew.
- Four corners of the earth All parts of the Earth.
- Frailty, thy name is woman Alluding to the alleged inherent weakness of character of women.
- Freezing temperatures A colloquial expression, used to denote icy weather.
- Fresh as a daisy Fully rested, not at all tired, full of energy and enthusiasm, energetic and lively.
- Friday afternoon car A faulty or sub-standard car. More widely, any poor effort.
- Friends with benefits 'Friends with benefits' are two people who agree to have sex without being in a committed couple relationship. Friends with benefits is often abbreviated to FWB, especially in text messages. While non-committed sexual liaisons have been an attractive idea for ever, it remains as difficult as it ever was to maintain a sexual but uncommitted relationship. Many FWB arrangements are short lived.
- Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears This quotation from Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's best-known lines. Mark Antony asks for the attention of the assembled ctowd as he delivers a eulogy in honour of the recently murdered Julius Caesar: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest = For Brutus is an honourable man; S o are they all, all honourable men. Caesar had been assassinated by a group of conspirators led by Brutus. Brutus had previously delivered a speech in which he claimed that the murder had been done in the name of freedom. In a clever speech, Antony turned the mob against Brutus and the other assassins.
- From pillar to post From one place to another, haphazardly and to little purpose.
- From sea to shining sea From one coast to another.
- From strength to strength Progress from one success to another higher level of success.
- Fruit of your loins One's children.
- Fuddy-duddy A stuffy or foolishly old-fashioned person.
- Full of life Someone who is lively, alert, energetic, and enthusiastic.
- Full of piss and vinegar Rowdy, boisterous, full of youthful energy.
- Full tilt At top speed; with maximum energy.
- Full to the gunwales Full to the brim; packed tight.
- Funny farm Other phrases with American origin Mental institution.
- Fuzzy wuzzy A derogatory term for a black person, especially one with fuzzy hair.
G
- Gadzooks An exclamation - a euphemistic shortening of God's hooks (the nails on the cross).
- Gee whiz An interjection or exclamation of surprise.
- Gee-up Other phrases about Animals 'Gee-up' is a command given to a horse, usually to encourage it to go forward or go faster. To gee things up is to enliven proceedings and encourage those present to action.
- Generation X The generation of people born between the 1950s and early 1970s, who were anarchic and directionless.
- Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration Genius is largely the result of hard work, rather than an inspired flash of insight.
- Get a word in edgeways Join a conversation in which another is speaking continually and leaving little opportunity for others.
- Get down to brass tacks Other phrases with American origin Engage with the basic facts or realities.
- Get medieval Use violence or extreme measures.
- Get off on the wrong foot Make a bad start to a project or relationship.
- Get off your high horse A request to someone to stop behaving in a haughty and self-righteous manner.
- Get on my wick To get on someone's wick is to annoy them; get on their nerves.
- Get out of one’s hair To stop bothering someone or causing annoyance.
- Get over it Don't concern yourself with something that's already in the past; accept it and move on to more productive pursuits.
- Get the pip Become irritated or annoyed.
- Get the sack Be dismissed from a job.
- Get the upper hand Take a dominant position.
- Get thee behind me Satan Jesus's response when tempted by the Devil.
- Get underway Begin a journey or a project.
- Get used to it Accept that a particular state of affairs is inevitable.
- Get your dander up Become agitated or angry.
- Get your goat Other phrases with American origin Make you annoyed or angry.
- Gild the lily To apply unnecessary ornament - to over embellish.
- Ginger Ginger beer = queer, that is, homosexual.
- Ginger up To excite or enthuse.
- Ginned up Drunk; by drinking gin or other alcoholic drink. Alternatively; enlivened.
- Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. This proverbial saying suggests that the ability to work is of greater benefit than a one-off handout.
- Give no quarter Show no mercy or concession; in its original usage, show no mercy for a vanquished opponent.
- Give up the ghost To die, or in the case of inanimate objects, to cease working.
- Giving me gyp Someone might complain of some ailment 'giving them gyp' if it were causing them nagging ongoing pain. Gyp is sometimes spelled jip. 'Gyp pain' or 'jip pain' might be caused by an uncomfortable but not serious ailment, usually described as 'a bit of gyp/jip'. It might also be severe and ongoing, as in 'that hip replacement is giving me gyp/jip'.
- Glass ceiling Other phrases with American origin The glass ceiling is an unacknowledged barrier to workplace advancement, usually in regard to women or minority groups.
- Go and boil your head An insult, of the form go and do something bad for yourself. Other examples are, go and play in the traffic and the more recent, and vehement, eat s*** and die.
- Go berserk To 'go berserk' is to behave in a frenzied and violent manner.
- Go by the board Finished with, as in thrown overboard.
- Go Doolally Originally 'doolally tap', meaning unbalanced state of mind.
- Go get ‘em Go and get them. (Or go and succeed at the challenge.)
- Go haywire To go wrong, to become overly excited or deranged.
- Go like the clappers Go very fast; in a vigorous manner.
- Go off at half-cock Speak or act prematurely.
- Go out on a limb Put oneself in an isolated position in one's support of someone or something.
- Go over like a lead balloon Other phrases with American origin Fail completely and be considered a flop by the public.
- Go postal Fly into a violent rage, especially when provoked by workplace stress.
- Go pound sand 'Go pound sand' is an American expression of disdain, along the same lines as 'get lost', 'go and play in the traffic', etc.
- Go the whole hog To perform some act or adopt some opinion fully and thoroughly.
- Go to pot To go to pot is to become ruined; to go to pieces.
- Go to the dogs Become ruined.
- Go to the mattresses Other phrases with American origin To go to the mattresses is to prepare for a battle or adopt a warlike stance.
- Go-faster Any peripheral and pointless device which is added to a product to make it appear to perform better.
- God is dead This quotation is widely attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who wrote in Die Frohliche Wissenschaft, 1882: "God is dead: but considering the state the species Man is in, there will perhaps be caves, for ages yet, in which his shadow will be shown." Nietzsche [part man, part moustache] had some help in forming that thought. In 1854, Gérard de Nerval (the nom-de-plume of the French poet and translator Gérard Labrunie), wrote, in his Le Chiméres: "Dieu est mort! le ciel est vide - Pleurez! enfants, vous n'avez plus de pére" (God is dead! Heaven is empty - Weep, children, you no longer have a father) This earlier version of God is dead was itself a summary of Jean Paul's Blumen-Frucht-und-Dormstucke, 1976 - in which God's children are referred to as 'orphans'. In The Republic, Plato wrote: "Behold! human beings living in underground den ... like ourselves ... they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave." Nietzsche's version appears to have been assembled from the pieces by de Nerval and Plato.
- God rest you merry gentlemen 'God rest you (or ye) merry gentlemen' means 'Gentlemen, may god keep you in harmony and happiness'. The expression is no longer used other than as the title and first line of the popular Christmas Carol.
- God rot them Drat or doggone.
- God willing and the creek don't rise I/you/they will achieve my/your/their goal as long as there are no outside forces that there’s no control preventing them from doing just that.
- Godfrey Daniel Other phrases about: American origin People's names Religion Gidfrey Daniel is a euphemistic way of saying 'God damn them' without causing offence.
- Going to hell in a handbasket To be 'going to hell in a handbasket' is to be rapidly deteriorating - on course for disaster.
- GOLF - Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden GOLF - Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden. The phrase that is sometimes supposed to be the origin of the word golf.
- Gone for a burton Something which has 'gone for a burton' is no longer functional - a reference to a person who had died or an item that was broken.
- Good men and true Dependable men, of rank and honour. The phrase was adapted later to 'twelve good men and true', indicating the twelve (originally all men, now both sexes) of a criminal jury.
- Good riddance An expression of pleasure on being rid of some annoyance - usually an individual.
- Good Samaritan Someone who helps another in need for compassionate motives and with no thought of reward.
- Goodnight Vienna 'Goodnight Vienna' means 'it's all over', for example "Jack stepped on the landmine and it was goodnight Vienna". It is also used to refer to an implied coming conclusion which has become inevitable, for example "She winked and beckoned me towards her bedroom and I knew it was goodnight Vienna".
- Goody two-shoes Someone who is virtuous in a coy, smug or sentimental manner.
- Goody, goody gumdrops Other phrases with American origin A childish exclamation of delight.
- Gordon Bennett! The expression 'Gordon Bennett!' is an exclamation of incredulous surprise.
- Got my mojo working Other phrases with American origin My magic charm is working.
- Grand slam Winning all that's on offer in a sports competition, e.g. all the tricks in a game of bridge, or the all the major competitions in a sport in a single year - especially associated with tennis and golf. More generally, any all-out achievement.
- Grandfather clock A grandfather clock is a colloquial name for the kind of weight-and-pendulum eight-day clock in a tall case, formerly in common use.
- Granny dumping Other phrases with American origin The abandonment of elderly relatives by their carers.
- Grasp the nettle To tackle a difficult problem boldly.
- Grass up To 'grass someone up' is to inform on them to the police.
- Graveyard shift A late-night/early-morning work shift.
- Greased lightning Very fast.
- Great balls of fire Other phrases with American origin An exclamation of surprise or delight.
- Great minds think alike The proverb 'great minds think alike' has a straightforward literal meaning. However, the usage is often ironic, that is, it is used when two unexceptional minds have the same thought.
- Great oaks from little acorns grow The proverb 'great oaks from little acorns grow' puts forward the idea that great enterprises may have modest beginnings. It is intended to be an encouragement to persist with small efforts as they may build to grander ones in time - similar to the more modern 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'.
- Green-eyed monster Jealousy.
- Gregory Peck The neck.
- Gridlock Other phrases with American origin Severe traffic congestion, where backed-up traffic blocks movement on intersecting roads and progress is completely halted.
- Grind to a halt Lose momentum and stop.
- Grinning like a Cheshire cat Grinning broadly.
- Grist to the mill All things are a potential source of profit or advantage.
- Groggy Befuddled or dopey due to drink.
- Grub Street Grub Street was a pejorative name for the residence of a class of hack writers and pamphleteers in the Moorfields district of London in the 17th century. Latterly it has been used as a generic term of disparagement for hack journalism.
- Guinea-pig A person or animal who is used as the subject of an experiment.
- Gung ho Other phrases with American origin Zealous and eager.
- Gussied up Smartened up, in a showy or garish way.
H
- Halcyon days Calm, peaceful days.
- Hale and hearty Healthy, fit and strong.
- Half a loaf is better than no bread Something, even if it isn't what you ideally would prefer, is better than nothing.
- Half inch Pinch (steal).
- Half-hearted Having one's intentions divided; not fully committed; lacking zeal or courage.
- Hand over fist Quickly and continuously.
- Handbags at ten paces 'Handbags at ten paces', sometimes shortened just to 'handbags', is a comic reference to a confrontation which is histrionic but which doesn't involve physical violence. Such confrontations are also called handbag situations.
- Handle with kid gloves Handle a situation, or a person or an object, delicately and gingerly.
- Hanged, drawn and quartered A gruesome form of torture and, eventually, death by execution.
- Hanky-panky Trickery - double dealing. Also, more recently, sexual shenanigans.
- Happily ever after 'Happily ever after' or 'Happy ever after' are typically used as a formulaic ending to a fairy tale or children's story, or in romantic novels to describe wedded bliss. The meaning is quite literal - 'from then onwards and forever, happiness pervades'.
- Happy slapping Unprovoked attacks on individuals made in order to record the event, and especially the victim's shock and surprise, on video phones.
- Happy-clappy A disparaging name for the form of Christian religious observance which is informal, musical and spontaneous.
- Harbinger of doom A harbinger of doom is a sign, a warning of bad things to come.
- Hard and fast Rigidly adhered to - without doubt or debate.
- Hard cases make bad law 'Hard', that is, exceptional, legal cases aren't suitable as the source of generalised laws.
- Hard cheese Hard luck.
- Hard lines Bad luck.
- Hard-hearted Lacking mercy; incapable of pity.
- Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate sings In Shakespeare's Cymbeline, Cloten uses lewd language to talk about Cymbeline. In an attempt to use musicians to court her, he calls on them to play 'a wonderful sweet air'. The hark, hark!... line is chosen to represent sweetness and refinement, as a counterpoint to the previous crudities.
- Harp on To speak repeatedly and boringly about a topic.
- Harum-scarum 'Harum-scarum' behaviour is that which is reckless and carelessly wild.
- Harvest moon The full moon closest to the autumn equinox.
- Hasta la vista Other phrases with American origin 'Hasta la vista' translates from the Spanish as 'see you later'.
- Haste makes waste Rushing into a decision may cause mistakes that waste more time than would have been taken by proceeding more carefully.
- Hat trick A series of three consecutive successes, in sport or some other area of activity.
- Have a Captain Cook Have a look.
- Have a dekko Have a look.
- Have an axe to grind To have an axe to grind is to have a dispute to take up with someone or, to have an ulterior motive; to have private ends to serve.
- Have an inkling Have a vague intimation of; have a slight knowledge of.
- Have it away Euphemism for 'have sexual intercourse'.
- Have no truck with To reject or to have nothing to do with.
- Have your guts for garters To threaten to 'have someone's guts for garters' is to state the intention to do them serious harm. The threat isn't an actual and literal one and the overstatement of reprisal is meant to indicate humour, but with an indication that the threatened person has done something which has been something of an annoyance.
- Have your work cut out To have your work cut out is to be faced with a lengthy or difficult task. The expression is often used in the extended form 'have your work cut out for you'. Although we often now use the phrase to mean 'be faced with a difficult task', the original meaning (see below) was 'be faced with a large amount of work'.
- Hay is for horses A sarcastic response to the word ‘Hey’ used in greeting.
- He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches A criticism of the teaching profession, portraying it as second best.
- He who laughs last laughs longest Literal meaning.
- He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon This proverbial saying suggests that, if you have dealings with wicked people you should be cautious and distance yourself from them, or else you may be corrupted into their evil ways.
- He will give the Devil his due Literally, pay the devil what you owe him. Used figuratively to mean 'give back what you owe', either money or favours.
- Head over heels To be 'head over heels' is to be very excited. In a literal sense the expression also refers to turning cartwheels to demonstrate one's excitement.
- Heads up This little phrase has several meanings - an advance warning - being wide awake and alert - being the head of - a type is display screen.
- Heads will roll The expression 'heads will roll' is the promise or prediction that people responsible for some failure or disaster will be dismissed or otherwise held to account.
- Healthy as a horse Very healthy, in top condition.
- Hear hear A shout of acclamation or agreement.
- Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil There are two meanings to this proverb. One is ‘ignoring bad behaviour or wrongdoing’ and the other is an instruction to avoid dwelling on or engaging with negative or harmful thoughts and actions.
- Heard it through the grapevine An indication that a piece of information was obtained via an informal contact.
- Heart's content To one's (or your) heart's content means to one's complete inner satisfaction - until one's heart is content.
- Heavens to Betsy A mild exclamation of surprise.
- Heavens to Murgatroyd A stylised exclamation of surprise, similar to 'Heavens to Betsy'.
- Heavy metal Other phrases with American origin Hard rock music, usually electric guitar-based and always loud.
- Hedge your bets To avoid committing oneself; to leave a means of retreat open.
- Heebie-jeebies Other phrases with American origin Reduplicated phrases A feeling of anxiety, apprehension or illness.
- Hell has no fury like a woman scorned 'Hell has no fury like a woman scorned' conveys the idea that a scorned woman (that is, one who has been betrayed) is more furious than anything that hell can devise.
- Hell or high water Any great difficulty or obstacle.
- Hell's bells 'Hell's bells' is an expression of anger or annoyance.
- Hell's half acre 'Hell's half acre' is an American expression and is used with several different meanings: - All over the place; in all directions. For example if someone is said to be all over Hell's half acre they would be rushing from one place to another. The phrase is often used in relation to someone searching here, there and everywhere. - A wild and desolate locality. - The 'red-light' district of town.
- Helter-skelter 'Helter-skelter' means 'pell-mell - in chaotic and disorderly haste'. Also, a Helter-Skelter is the name of an English fairground attraction with a spiral slide.
- Hem and haw To hem and haw is to speak indistinctly. making frequent pauses. More generally, hemming and hawing is acting indecisively.
- Here lies one whose name was writ in water Fame, and indeed life, is fleeting.
- Het up To be het-up is to be extremely agitated.
- Hey presto 'Hey presto' is an exclamation used by conjurers and jugglers to signal an instantaneous or magical transformation. It is interchangeable with 'abracadabra' and is often written with an exclamation mark - 'Hey presto!'.
- Higgledy-piggledy Chaotic and disorderly; in jumbled confusion.
- High and dry Stranded, without help or hope of recovery.
- High and mighty Powerful and superior, or arrogantly affecting to be so.
- High five A gesture of celebration in which two people slap palms with the hands held above above the head.
- High jinks High jinks is the name for boisterous fun and horseplay.
- High on the hog Other phrases with American origin Affluent and luxurious.
- High time Other phrases by: Shakespeare The time that something is due (bordering on overdue) to be done. For example, "It's beginning to get dark. It's high time we got started on putting up the tent". This is distinct from the similar 'a high time', meaning 'a happy and jolly time'. For example, "the party went really well. A high time was had by all". This phrase has also been used to mean 'a heated argument', but that meaning is unused and archaic now.
- High-flyer High-flyers, sometimes spelled high-fliers, are people who have achieved notable success, especially those who have become successful more quickly than is normal. The term is also used to describe speculative stock that has reached a high price in a short time.
- High, wide and handsome Other phrases with American origin In a carefree, stylish manner.
- Hippo birdie two ewes A funny way of saying ‘Happy birthday to you’.
- Hissy fit Other phrases with American origin A temperamental outburst; a tantrum.
- History is bunk Other Quotations Live in the present, not the past.
- Hit for six To be hit (or knocked) for six is to be dealt a severe blow, emotional or physical, or to have one's arguments or schemes swept aside.
- Hit me like a ton of bricks Something that has had a strong and overwhelming impact, often emotional or mental.
- Hit the ground running Get off to a brisk and successful start.
- Hit the hay Go to bed.
- Hit the nail on the head Get to the precise point. Do or say something exactly right.
- Hither and yon Here and there; to this place and that place.
- Hob-nob The term hob-nob is now used to mean 'mix socially, especially with those rich or famous'. In earlier times 'hob-nob' has been used with a variety of meanings: - Drink together; be on familiar terms. - Drink to someone's health. - Hit or miss/give or take. As well as those various meanings the expression has had various spellings - 'hob or nob', 'hob-a-nob', 'hob and nob', This list doesn't include 'hob-knob' though which, although increasingly found online, is a misspelling.
- Hobby-horse A favourite topic that one frequently refers to or dwells on; a fixation.
- Hobson's choice 'Hobson's choice' is no real choice at all. When the only options are either accept what is offered or refuse it, we have 'Hobson's choice'. The expression is effectively the same as 'take it or leave it'. The expression is best known in the UK, but became used worldwide following the successful eponymous 1954 film starring Charles Laughton.
- Hocus-pocus 'Hocus pocus' is a supposed magical charm previously uttered by magicians. More recently it has been used as a general term for trickery or magic.
- Hodge-podge A 'Hodge-podge' is a stew made with meat and a variety of vegetables. The term is also used to refer to any mixture of ingredients or more widely to mean a mess.
- Hoi polloi The common masses.
- Hoist with your own petard Injured by the device that you intended to use to injure others.
- Hoity-toity Pretentiously self-important, haughty or pompous.
- Hokey Cokey The 'Hokey Cokey' is a dance, usually a quite exuberant participation dance, where a group of dancers follow a set routine of actions while singing along to the Hokey Cokey tune.
- Hokey-pokey The term 'hokey-pokey' originated as the name for deception or underhand dealing. More recently it has been used as the name of ice cream, originally cheap, street-sold ice cream and, in New Zealand, specifically ice cream with added toffee honeycomb. In various parts of the English-speaking world the Hokey Pokey is the name of the dance known to the British as the Hokey Cokey.
- Hold a candle The expression 'can't hold a candle to' refers to someone who compares badly to an known authority - to be unfit even to hold a subordinate position.
- Hold my beer I’m about to do something impulsive and possibly dangerous and stupid.
- Hold with the hare and run with the hounds To 'hold with the hare and run with the hounds' is to deceitfully purport to remain on good terms with both sides in a conflict.
- Hold your horses Hold on; be patient.
- Holy moly An exclamation of surprise or astonishment.
- Holy Toledo A humorous mock-swear word based on the taboo against blaspheming religious terms, and an exclamation of shock, surprise or astonishment.
- Home and hosed Having safely and fully reached one's objective.
- Home is where the heart is The proverb 'home is where the heart is' means that, wherever you are and whoever you are with, your home and family provide the greatest emotional bond.
- Homonyms Hononyms are words that have the same pronunciation but different meaning, origin, or spelling. For example, 'right', 'wright', 'write' and 'rite'.
- Honesty is the best policy The proverb 'Honesty is the best policy' has a straightforward literal meaning, which encourages the populace to tell the turth and avoid crime.
- Honey catches more flies than vinegar This proverbial saying expresses the idea that it is more effective to be polite and ingratiating than to be hostile or demanding.
- Hoochie-coochie The Hoochie-coochie is a kind of erotic dance, similar to a belly dance. When the term was first coined it was also used as a form of baby talk, either as a pet name or as an alternative to 'lovey-dovey'. More recently, it has also been used as the name for sexual activity.
- Hooray Henry A loud-mouthed but ineffectual upper class fool.
- Horse and cart Fart.
- Horse feathers Rubbish, nonsense.
- Horse-sense A robust form of common sense believed to be found in poorly educated but shrewd people.
- Hostage to fortune Someone might be said to be a hostage to fortune if they, by their own actions, hand over their future prosperity and happiness to random chance. For example, a finance minister who promises to "Get inflation down to 1% or I'll resign." would be said to be a hostage to fortune.
- Hot off the press Other phrases with American origin Freshly printed.
- Hot on the heels In close pursuit of someone/something, or immediately after some event. Other phrases about: Parts of the body
- Hot to trot Reading, willing, and eager. (Often for sexual activity.) (Or sexually exciting.)
- Hot-blooded Having a passionate nature, or being inclined to quick temper.
- Household words Words or sayings that are in common use; names that are familiar to everyone.
- Houston, we have a problem Other phrases with American origin Originally a genuine report of a life-threatening fault. Now used humorously to report any kind of problem.
- How are the mighty fallen? The previously powerful are now reduced.
- How do you do A greeting, considered by the English upper classes to be the only correct form of greeting when meeting someone for the first time.
- How now brown cow? A nonsense phrase with no real meaning as such, although it also sometimes used as a jovial greeting.
- How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child Literal meaning - it is especially painful to raise an ungrateful child.
- How you doing How are you doing?
- How’s it hanging How are you? (Or ‘how are things?’)
- Hubble-bubble A 'Hubble-bubble' is a simple form of the hookah pipe in which the smoke bubbles through water in a coconut shell or other material.
- Hugger-mugger To do something hugger-mugger is to do it in secret; in a clandestine manner.
- Hunky-dory Satisfactory; fine.
- Hunt and peck Other phrases with American origin Typing by looking for characters on the keyboard individually.
- Hurly-burly A hurly-burly is a commotion, tumult, strife, uproar, turmoil.
- Hush puppies A type of suede shoes. Also, in the USA, a form of corn-bread fritter.
I
- I can't win for losing The odds are stacked against me. (Or no matter how much I try, I never succeed.)
- I have not slept one wink I have not slept at all.
- I have nothing to declare but my genius Other phrases with American origin Quotations Supposedly said by Oscar Wilde at Customs Control in New York, 1882.
- I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat Other Quotations A line from Sir Winston Churchill's WWII speech on becoming prime minister of the UK in 1940.
- I haven't got a clue Without any knowledge or understanding.
- I love you to death I love you very much.
- I see no ships The expression 'I see no ships' is to knowingly ignore something which you know to be real and significant.
- I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips I see you are ready and anxious to depart.
- I spy with my little eye 'I spy with my little eye' is a rhyme used in the children's guessing game to indicate what it is that is being looked at.
- I will wear my heart upon my sleeve Display your feelings openly, for all to see.
- I'll eat my hat A display of confidence in a particular outcome; for example, 'She's always late. If she gets that train I'll eat my hat'.
- I'll go to the foot of our stairs An exclamation of surprise.
- I'll swing for you "I will kill you and am prepared to be hanged as a consequence", or "I will swing a punch at you".
- I'm stumped Stumped: Stuck - unable to proceed, often regarding being confounded by some intellectual puzzle.
- Identity theft Other phrases with American origin The use of personal details of another in order to use their identity dishonestly; for example, in order to obtain money, credit etc. fraudulently.
- If I had my druthers If I had my preference.
- If it ain't broke, don't fix it If something is working adequately well, leave it alone.
- If music be the food of love, play on 'If music be the food of love, play on' is the famous opening line from Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night. The lovelorn Orsino is frustrated in his courtship of Countess Olivia. He asks for more music because he muses that an excess of music might cure his obsession with love, in the way that eating too much removes one's appetite for food. Music plays an important part in Shakespeare's plays and is often used to carry the plot. It's reasonable to surmise that he did believe music to the be 'the food of love'.
- If the mountain will not come to Muhammad... The proverbial phrase 'If the mountain will not come to Muhammad...' means that , if one's will does not prevail, one must submit to an alternative.
- If the shoe fits, wear it If a description applies to you, then accept it. This expression is often used when something derogatory is said about a person who then complains to a third party. The third party, if they agree with the original negative comment, might suggest "If the shoe fits, then wear it". An example of that might be: Jack: Just because I've missed two or three sessions, my fitness trainer says I lack motivation. Jill: Well, if the shoe fits, wear it.
- If wishes were horses, beggars would ride This proverb is recorded in English from quite an early date. A version of the expression appeared in the published works of William Camden in the 17th century. Camden was an interesting character; a historian and one of the select few who could write 'Herald' as his job description. He was one of three senior heralds of the College of Arms under Queen Elizabeth I. In 1605, Camden collected together his miscellaneous notes on English and Classic history and published them under the title Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine. He didn't put his name to the work and dismissed it as "the rude rubble and out-cast rubbish… of a greater and more serious worke". The book was republished in several versions and included this proverb: If wishes were thrushes, then beggers would eat birds Acquiring thrushes has now somewhat gone out of fashion as an aspiration of beggars. However, if eating thrushes is your thing, Camden is your man. It is clear that the 'horses' and 'birds' versions are essentially the same proverb. Other 17th century versions also exist, including 'if wishes were buttercakes, beggers might bite', which was recorded in John Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs, 1670. The first known citation of the proverb in the form we now know it is in James Carmichaell's Collection of Proverbs in Scots: If wishes were horses, beggers wald ryde. The date of Carmichaell's work is unclear but it does appear to have been published in his lifetime and he died in 1628. Whether it was Carmichaell or Camden who first recorded the proverb is currently uncertain. See also: the List of Proverbs.
- If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen Don't persist with a task if the pressure of it is too much for you. The implication being that, if you can't cope, you should leave the work to someone who can.
- If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas Like many proverbs concerning animals, 'If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas' isn't really about dogs or fleas. The meaning is that human failings like dishonesty or immorality are contagious. If you mix with bad people you will yourself become bad.
- Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Literal meaning.
- In a cleft stick In a position where advance and retreat are both impossible; in a fix.
- In a jiffy In an instant.
- In a nutshell In a few words; concisely stated.
- In a pickle In a quandary or some other difficult position.
- In a pig's eye An expression of emphatic disbelief.
- In a quandary Faced with a dilemma - perplexed and uncertain what to do.
- In a trice In a single moment, with no delay.
- In an interesting condition A euphemism for pregnant.
- In for a penny, in for a pound This expression indicates the intention of seeing a course of action through, regardless of what it may entail. It suggests that, if one is decided to do something, one may as well do it wholeheartedly.
- In like Flynn To be 'in like Flynn' is to be quickly and/or emphatically successful, usually in a sexual or romantic context.
- In limbo In a state of being neglected and immobile, with no prospect of movement to a better place.
- In reduced circumstances Euphemism for poverty or bankruptcy.
- In someone's bad books To be in disgrace or out of favour.
- In spades Other phrases with American origin In abundance; very much.
- In stitches Laughing uproariously.
- In the bag Other phrases with American origin If something is 'in the bag' it is secure - as good as in one's possession.
- In the beginning was the Word 'In the beginning was the Word' is the first line of St. John's Gospel, in which he lays out the fundamental nature of God.
- In the blink of an eye In an extremely short space of time; almost instantaneously.
- In the books Something is finished or completed.
- In the box-seat In a superior or advantageous position.
- In the buff Naked.
- In the cart In trouble.
- In the catbird seat Other phrases with American origin In a superior or advantageous position.
- In the club Euphemism, meaning pregnant.
- In the doghouse In disgrace; out of favour.
- In the doldrums Other phrases about: Sailing and the sea In low spirits; feeling dull and drowsy.
- In the family way Euphemism, meaning pregnant.
- In the interest of time In order to make efficient use of time. (Or to save time.)
- In the limelight At the centre of attention.
- In the nick of time Just in time; at the precise moment.
- In the offing Imminent; likely to happen soon.
- In the pink In perfect condition, especially of health.
- In the red To be 'in the red' is to be in debt.
- In the same boat In the same circumstances; facing the same predicament..
- In the sticks In the country; especially the unsophisticated backwoods.
- In the twinkling of an eye In an instant.
- In trouble A euphemism for pregnant - especially when out of wedlock.
- In your face In a bold confrontational manner.
- Including, but not limited to 'Including, but not limited to' is easiest to explain in an example. Like this... There might be a sign on a park's gate with a warning like this: "In this park certain activities are not permitted, including, but not limited to, skateboarding, cycling and ball games." The park authorities list some of the things that they don't allow but, by using "not limited to" they are making it clear that other activities, like car racing or bear-baiting, might be disallowed to. It wouldn't be practical, or necessary, to list everything you can't do in the park, so the authorities pick some important ones and then add the 'and any other unlisted thing we don't like' in the 'not limited to' rider. People are often unsure about the punctuation of 'including, but not limited to'. The expression is clearer if sub-phrase 'but not limited to' is bracketed off in some way. Any of these could be used for that: A. Including, but not limited to, skateboarding, cycling and ball games. B. Including - but not limited to - skateboarding, cycling and ball games. C. Including (but not limited to) skateboarding, cycling and ball games. All of the above convey the meaning and are grammatically correct. B and C are rather clunky though and commas, as in A are perfectly adequate.
- Indian giver One who gives a gift but later takes it back.
- Indian summer An unseasonably warm, dry and calm weather, usually following a period of colder weather or frost in the late Autumn (or in the Southern hemisphere, where the term is less common, the late Spring).
- Infra dig Unbecoming of one's position - beneath one's dignity.
- Innocent until proven guilty The legal concept that the guilt of an accused person cannot be presumed and that they must be assumed to be innocent until proven otherwise.
- Inside-out 'Inside-out' refers to anything with what is normally on the inside on the outside. The expression is often used to describe clothing.
- Iron hoof Poof (homosexual).
- Iron out the kinks Fix small or minor issues or flaws in a plan, system, or process.
- Is the Pope Catholic? A jokey rhetorical question.
- Is the Pope Polish? A jokey alternative version of 'Is the Pope Catholic?'.
- Is this a dagger which I see before me? This is one of the best-known lines from Shakespeare's Macbeth, 1605. Shakespeare used the image of a dagger in many of his plays. In fact there are few of his plays that don't have a reference to daggers in some form - most commonly deployed as symbolic of treachery. In the Scottish play, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger, pointing toward the King Duncan's chamber and perhaps indicating that he should use it to follow through on his and Lady Macbeth's plan of murdering the King. Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw.
- It ain't over till the fat lady sings Nothing is irreversible until the final act is played out.
- It beggar'd all description In Shakespeare's day the verb 'to beggar' meant 'to exhaust' or 'make a beggar' of. To beggar description meant 'to be so incredible as to make all description impossible - literally, for the speaker to be lost for words.
- It came like a bolt from the blue A complete and sudden surprise.
- It is meat and drink to me Meat and drink in this phrase has two meanings, which appear to be independent of each other. Either, to be a source of support or pleasure or, to be a simple and routine matter.
- It never rains but it pours When troubles come they come together.
- It was a dark and stormy night The archetypal example of a florid, melodramatic style of fiction writing.
- It's all one to me An indifference as to the choice between options; one thing is as good as another.
- It's better to give than to receive The proverb 'It's better to give than to receive' has a straightforward literal meaning which needs no further explanation.
- It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all The proverbial saying 'It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all' has a straightforward literal meaning. Even the pain of a lost love is worth bearing if one can first experience the joy of love.
- It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all The proverbial saying 'It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all' has a straightforward literal meaning.
- It's not rocket science Other phrases with American origin It (the subject under discussion) isn't difficult to understand.
- It's that man again The full title of the popular 1940s BBC radio comedy - ITMA.
- Itty-bitty Other phrases with American originReduplicated phrases 'Itty-bitty' means very small. It is often used as a form of baby talk to young children when emphasizing the smallness of something.
- Ivory tower A state of sheltered and unworldly intellectual isolation.
J
- Jack in the box A toy consisting of a box containing a figure with a spring, which leaps up when the lid is raised.
- Jack of all trades A man who can turn his hand to many things.
- Jack Palancing Dancing. Other phrases about: People's names 'Jack'
- Jack tar 'Jack tar' is a generic name for a seaman of the British Royal Navy. The term was most commonly use during the period of predominance of the British Empire, when 'Britannia ruled the waves'. It was usually applied to sailors below the rank of officer.
- Jack the lad A conspicuously self-assured, carefree and brash young man; a 'chancer'.
- Jam tomorrow 'Jam tomorrow' is some pleasant event in the future, which is never likely to materialize.
- Jeepers-creepers 'Jeepers-creepers' is used as an expression of feeling or emotion, especially surprise, excitement, dismay, or exasperation. It is also used for emphasis.
- Jerry built If something is 'Jerry built' it is built in a makeshift and insubstantial manner.
- Jet-black Absolutely black.
- Jiggery-pokery 'Jiggery-pokery' is deceitful or underhand manipulation, either of physical objects, as in conjuring, or in dishonest trading. It has a similar meaning to another reduplicated term associated with conjuring - hocus-pocus.
- Jimmy Horner A corner. Other phrases about: People's names
- Jimmy Riddle Urinate. Jimmy Riddle = piddle.
- Jobs for the boys Other phrases with American origin Favouritism where jobs or other benefits are given to friends and acquaintances.
- Johnny on the spot Someone ready and available at the time needed.
- Join the colours Enlist in the army.
- Joined at the hip Inextricably linked; inseparable.
- Jot or tittle A 'jot or tittle' is a tiny amount.
- Jump on the bandwagon Join a growing movement in support of someone or something, often in an opportunist way, when that movement is seen to have become successful.
- Jump the gun Other phrases with American origin Begin something before preparations for it are complete.
- Jump the shark To reach the point in a TV series that denotes it is irretrievably past its best by introducing a ridiculous or otherwise unbelievable plot device or characterisation in order to boost ratings.
- Just deserts That which is deserved. A reward for what has been done - good or bad.
- Just in time A manufacturing/delivery process where a minimum of goods are kept in stock. Items are planned to arrive precisely at the time they are required for use or despatch.
K
- Kangaroo court An unauthorized, bogus court.
- Karma is a bitch Negative actions have negative consequences for those who don’t mean well.
- Katy bar the door The expression 'Katy, bar the door' means take precautions; there's trouble ahead. The expresssion is also spelled as 'Katie bar the door' and the earliest example of the phrase in print spells it that way.
- Keel over To keel over is to fall, suddenly and in a heap.
- Keep a stiff upper lip To keep a stiff upper lip is to remain resolute and unemotional in the face of adversity.
- Keep at bay Prevent, either a person or an event, from advancing nearer.
- Keep body and soul together To survive. The phrase is most often used specifically to refer to earning sufficient money to keep oneself alive.
- Keep it under your hat Keep it secret.
- Keep shtum Other phrases with American origin Say nothing - especially in circumstances where saying the wrong thing may get you into trouble.
- Keep the ball rolling Other phrases with American origin Maintain a level of activity in and enthusiasm for a project.
- Keep your chin up Remain cheerful in a difficult situation.
- Keep your distance Observe the avoidance of familiarity which is appropriate to one's position. Also, in more recent usage, to remain aloof and detached from another person or situation.
- Keep your hands clean / keep your nose clean Be innocent of any wrongdoing; stay out of trouble.
- Keep your nose to the grindstone To keep your nose to the grindstone is to apply yourself conscientiously to your work.
- Keep your pecker up Remain cheerful - keep your head held high.
- Keep your powder dry Be prepared and save your resources until they are needed.
- Keeping up with the Joneses "Keeping up with the Joneses" is striving to match one's neighbours in spending and social standing.
- Keepy-uppy The skill of ball-juggling - to keep a ball in the air for as long as possible by bouncing it off any part of the body that is allowed in the rules of football, that is, any part except the hands and arms. Typically the ball is kept up using the feet and head.
- Khyber pass Arse.
- Kick the bucket 'Kick the bucket' is a colloquial expression for 'die'.
- Kick your heels Wait impatiently to be summoned.
- Killed in a bar when he was only three Misheard lyric.
- Kilroy was here This was a graffito, of unknown origin but used predominantly by members of the US and UK military and predominantly during WWII. It was often combined with an earlier cartoon image, known as Chad, although the two aren't related apart from that conjunction. In order to trace the origin of 'Kilroy was here', we will need to disentangle it from the Chad image and the 'Wot, no ...' or 'What no...', text that also often accompanied the cartoon. This text was usually a jocular a complaint against a shortage of some commodity of other. The two text graffiti. that is, 'Kilroy was here' and 'Wot, no...' both pre-date Chad and are often found separately from it. An example of the use of 'Wot, no...' is found in the USA in 1932, in the newspaper The Day, December 1932, in an advert for a jewellery store. The knowing use of the phrase as an attention grabber suggests that the phrase was in the public's mind at that time and I would expect pre-1932 examples to turn up in time. A nice comic example of the use of the expression comes in a story from England in 1945, which was reprinted in the Virginia newspaper The Bee, on Christmas Eve that year: MANCHESTER, England - Men at a military camp near here scribbled over the walls of the canteen: "Wot! No beer!" "Wot! No fags!" "Wot! No eggs". The commanding officer threatened 28 days detention to anyone caught, but when he returned to his office after parade, he found on his blotting pad: "Wot; Only 28 days!" The Chad image is sometimes credited to the British cartoonist George Edward Chatterton (a.k.a. Chat), but that is no more certain than the origin of 'Kilroy was here' itself. The Times, in April 1946, pitched it about right when they said: "Mr. Chad probably went through a number of evolutions at the hands of a vast number of people before reaching the present state and can claim no one man as creator. 'Wot! No father,' it might well complain." The Kilroy was here graffito was extremely common during the latter part of WWII and into the 1950s and amounted to something of a craze - with it turning up in obscure locations all around the world. The first reference to an example of 'Kilroy was here' that I can find is from a US History Channel video, Fort Knox: Secrets Revealed, which was broadcast in 2007. The show included a shot of a chalked graffito dated 13th May 1937. You might think that that is fairly flimsy evidence, after all, anyone can chalk and photograph a graffito. The support for the authenticity of the date comes from the context of the video. Fort Knox's gold bullion vault was loaded in 1937 and was stacked with gold bars from floor to ceiling, making the walls inaccessible. The bars weren't removed until the 1970s, when an audit was carried out. The removal of the bars for audit was filmed, and that's when the above graffito was uncovered. Unless Kilroy employed a trained snake with a piece of chalk, he must have been there on 13th May 1937. The evidence for the existence of the phrase in 1937 seems strong, but the origin isn't known. There are many suggested derivations, notably the frequent association of the phrase with an American serviceman - Francis J. Kilroy, Jr. Two articles that purport to explain the origin, again from US newspapers, are worth reproducing here - even if they post-date the use of the phrase itself and so can't be accurate in their attribution. The first if from the New England paper The Lowell Sun, November 1945 - headed How Kilroy Got There: The [US] Army public relations office said that a friend of Sergt. Francis J. Kilroy, Jr., of Everett, early in the war wrote on a barracks bulletin board at Boca Raton Army air field in Florida: "Kilroy will be here next week." Kilroy was ill with flu at the time. Later the catchy phrase was picked up by other airmen who changed it to: "Kilroy was here," and scribbled it on air force station walls. Kilroy himself only wrote it a couple of times. By the time Kilroy got overseas, the public relations office said, the thing had gotten out of hand and Kilroy even acquired a cousin. One sign at an Italian base said: "Kilroy's cousin, Corduroy, was here." A few weeks later, in December 1945, The Nevada State Journal includes Kilroy's own claim to be the original Kilroy who was there: Now awaiting a discharge at Devis-Monthan field, Tuscon, Ariz., Kilroy informed his parents here that while he was hospitalised earlier in the war a friend scrawled on the bulletin board at a Florida airbase: "Kilroy will be here next week." Whoever the first Kilroy who 'was there' was, it wasn't Francis J., and we will probably never know.
- Kiss and tell Publicly retell of one's sexual exploits, often with the aim of revenge or monetary gain.
- Kiss me Hardy Words spoken, on his deathbed, by Admiral Horatio Nelson to Captain Thomas Hardy.
- Kith and kin One's kith and kin are one's friends and relations.
- Knee-jerk reaction An automatic response to something.
- Knick-knack The expression 'knick-knack' is commonly used to refer to a dainty little trinket or ornament. Previously, it also meant 'a neat trick or sleight of hand'.
- Knickers in a twist To get your knickers in a twist it to become unduly agitated or angry. It is almost always expressed as the negative 'don't get your knickers in a twist', used when trying to point out someone's overreaction. The variant 'don't get your knickers in a knot' probably preceded the 'twist' version. Knickers, the women's undergarments known in the USA as panties, is a shortening of knickerbockers. In the USA 'don't get your knickers in a twist' is often deemed to be disdainful of women. The British usage of it (and the Australian use of 'knickers in a knot') is intended to be humorous and might be directed at either sex.
- Knock into a cocked hat To beat severely.
- Knock off To finish work for the day. Alternatively, to work quickly and complete a task - similar to polish off. A third alternative is a slang term meaning to steal.
- Knock on wood This phrase is used by people who rap their knuckles on a piece of wood hoping to stave off bad luck. In the UK, the phrase 'touch wood' is used - often jokingly by tapping one's head. The phrases are sometimes spoken when a person is already experiencing some good fortune and hope that it will continue - for example "I've been winning on every race - touch wood".
- Knocked up Euphemism for pregnant.
- Know on which side your bread is buttered To 'know on which side your bread is buttered' is to be aware of which side of a conflict it is in your interests to be on.
- Know the ropes To 'know the ropes' is to understand how to do something. To be acquainted with all the methods required.
- Know which way the wind blows To understand what is happening in changing circumstances and to be able to anticipate the future.
- Know your onions To be experienced in or knowledgeable about a subject.
- Knuckle down Get down to work and apply oneself earnestly to it.
- Knuckle under Give way; give in; submit.
L
- La dolce vita The good life, full of pleasure and indulgence.
- La-di-da Used to highlight and ridicule snobbish forms of behaviour or speech.
- La-la land Other phrases with American origin A notional place characterized by fantasy, self-absorption and blissful lack of touch with reality.
- Lackadaisical In a listless, languid manner; without interest.
- Lager frenzy Drink induced mayhem.
- Laid out in lavender Prepared for burial. The phrase has also been used to mean 'show something in the best possible light'. There are also reports of its use as meaning 'to criticize or condemn', but I can't confirm that usage.
- Lamb to the slaughter In an unconcerned manner - unaware of the impending catastrophe.
- Lame duck A person or thing that isn't properly able to function, especially one that was previously proficient.
- Land-lubber In it's original meaning land-lubber was sailor's term of contempt for a landsman. In more recent years it is a jokey name given to anyone who dislikes sailing or is incompetent in boats. Note that, like many words, land-lubber must originally have been two words - land and lubber. It progressed to the hyphenated land-lubber around 1700 and is now often spelled as the single word landlubber. I've stuck with the hyphenated form here.
- Lantern-jawed To be lantern-jawed is to have a prominent and angular jaw.
- Lark about Play the fool, in a childish or careless manner.
- Last but not least An introduction, often on stage, indicating that the person announced last is no less important than those introduced earlier.
- Laugh like a drain To laugh coarsely or loudly, especially at the discomfort of others.
- Laughing-stock A figure or object of ridicule and laughter.
- Lay it on with a trowel To lay something on with a trowel is to crudely labour a point, or flatter in an overly generous manner.
- Lead-pipe cinch A complete certainty.
- Left in the lurch Abandoned in a difficult position without help.
- Less and fewer, what's the difference?
- Less is more The notion that simplicity and clarity lead to good design.
- Let a thousand flowers bloom Encourage many ideas from many sources.
- Let bygones be bygones To 'let bygones be bygones' is to allow the unpleasant things that have happened in the past be forgotten.
- Let not the sun go down on your wrath Do not hold on to your anger for more than one day.
- Let sleeping dogs lie Avoid interfering in a situation which is currently stable.
- Let someone off the hook Freeing someone from either an obligation (or a responsibility) to carry out a task or series of tasks, or freeing someone from something unpleasant such as a punishment or a telling-off.
- Let the cat out of the bag To let the cat out of the bag is to disclose a secret, either deliberately or inadvertently.
- Let them eat cake The origins of many English phrases are unknown. Nevertheless, many people would say that they know the source of this one. It is widely attributed to Marie-Antoinette (1755-93), the Queen consort of Louis XVI. She is supposed to have said this when she was told that the French populace had no bread to eat. The original French is 'Qu'ils mangent de la brioche', that is, 'Let them eat brioche' (brioche is a form of cake made of flour, butter and eggs). The usual interpretation of the phrase is that Marie-Antoinette understood little about the plight of the poor and cared even less. There are two problems with that interpretation: 1. There's no evidence of any kind that Marie-Antoinette ever uttered those words or anything like them, and 2. The phrase, in as much as it can be shown to be associated with the French nobility, can be interpreted in other ways, for example, it could have either ironic or even a genuine attempt to offer cake to the poor as an alternative to the bread that they couldn't afford. As to the origin of the expression, two notable contemporaries of Marie-Antoinette - Louis XVIII and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, attribute the phrase to a source other than her. In Louis XVIII's memoir Relation d'un voyage a Bruxelles et d Coblentz, 1791, he states that the phrase 'Que ne mangent-ils de la croûte de pâté?' (Why don't they eat pastry?) was used by Marie-Thérèse (1638-83), the wife of Louis XIV. That account was published almost a century after Marie-Thérèse's death though, so it must be treated with some caution. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 12-volume autobiographical work Confessions, was written in 1770. In Book 6, which was written around 1767, he recalls: At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, "Then let them eat pastry!" Marie-Antoinette arrived at Versailles from her native Austria in 1770, two or three years after Rousseau had written the above passage. Whoever the 'great princess' was - possibly Marie-Thérèse, it wasn't Marie-Antoinette. Her reputation as an indulgent socialite is difficult to shake, but it appears to be unwarranted and is a reminder that history is written by the victors. She was known to have said "It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness". Nevertheless, the French revolutionaries thought even less of her than we do today and she was guillotined to death in 1793 for the crime of treason.
- Let there be light 2011 sees the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible (or Authorized Version). The KJV is a strong contender for the accolade of 'the book that has had more influence on the development of English than any other'. Many phrases that are now common currency in the language appeared first in the King James Bible. Likewise, a varied collection of everyday words also first saw the printer's ink in the work; for example, 'accurately', 'battering-ram', 'expansion', 'gopher', 'ingenuously', 'needleworker', 'phrasing', and so on... The text of the KJV has been used in numerous important works; from the libretto of the best known of all choral oratorios, Handel's Messiah, 1741, which is taken almost verbatim from the Authorized Version, to Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech, which he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in 1963 and in which he quoted directly from the KJV, Isaiah 40:4: "[I have a dream that one day] every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." However, the influential power of the book isn't based on the number of phrases and words that were coined for it; earlier versions of the Bible and luminaries like Shakespeare can claim many more. Its impact came because it brought clearly expressed, accessible and poetically beautiful English to the populace for the first time. The KJV was written to be spoken and, as James I's authorization states, it was 'appointed to be read in Churches'. Church services in England at that date consisted largely of readings from the Bible. By providing short verses in the plain colloquial English that the illiterate congregation could understand and remember, the verses became cemented into the spoken language. No verse exemplifies this power and simplicity better than one from the very beginning of the book "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light". This is one of the best-known phrases in English. It is a translation of the Latin 'dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux' (which hardly trips off the tongue) and appears in the opening lines of the Bible, in Genesis I. The English translation was first printed in Miles Coverdale's Bible, 1535, but the version of it that was known by every English speaker from the 17th century onward was that of the King James Version, 1611: In the beginning God created the Heauen, and the Earth. And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darkenesse was vpon the face of the deepe: and the Spirit of God mooued vpon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. The tendency of US politicians towards over-wordiness was compared unfavourably to the beauty and clarity of the original text by the journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke. In his acceptance speech for the 'Best Speaker of English' award in 1998, he gave an imagined US Government representative's version of Genesis 1:3: "The Supreme Being mandated the illumination of the Universe and this directive was enforced forthwith."
- Let your hair down Behave in a free or uninhibited manner.
- Level playing field Fair competition, where no advantage is shown to either side.
- Lick into shape To transform a faulty object or venture into something that works effectively.
- Lickety-split Headlong; at full speed.
- Lie low Other phrases by: Shakespeare Keep out of sight; bide one's time.
- Life begins at forty Life begins to be better in one's middle age.
- Life goes on Normal life will resume no matter what.
- Life in the 1500s - Folk Etymologies
- Life's not all beer and skittles 'Beer and skittles' is shorthand for a life of indulgence spent in the pub.
- Life's too short Response to a request to do something that seems too petty to waste valuable time on.
- Light in the loafers Male homosexual, gay.
- Light on one's feet Agile, nimble, and capable of moving in a quick and graceful way. (Often said to describe dancing ability.)
- Like a bump on a log Still, motionless, inactive.
- Like a chicken with its head cut off In a frenzied manner.
- Like a kid in a candy store To be extremely happy and excited about the things around you, choices available, or about the circumstances one finds themselves in. (And sometimes inclined to react in a way that is silly and not well controlled.)
- Like a moth to a flame Irresistibly and dangerously attracted to something or someone.
- Like a moth to a flame With a very strong attraction. (Usually in a bad way.)
- Like a thief in the night Something happens secretly, unexpectedly, and without being seen or heard.
- Like being savaged by a dead sheep This was said by combative UK Labour politician Dennis Healey on being criticized by the mild mannered Tory minister Geoffrey Howe in the UK House of Commons in June 1978.
- Like billy-o An extreme standard of comparison; for example, "It rained like billy-o; we were all soaked through.".
- Like it or lump it Said of an unpleasant outcome that one has no choice but to accept - one can either endure it willingly or endure it with suffering.
- Like pulling teeth Very difficult to do and very frustrating and uncomfortable to attempt, possibly tedious or even painful.
- Like the dickens A lot; as in 'hurts Like the dickens'.
- Like water off a duck’s back Without any noticeable effect. (Usually referring to something potential harmful or hurtful.)
- Lily-livered Cowardly.
- Lions led by donkeys This phrase is most commonly used as a description of the British soldiers of WWI.
- Little pitchers have big ears This proverbial saying means 'be careful, children are listening'.
- Live long and prosper Other phrases about: American origin Theatre and entertainment 'Live long and prosper' is an abbreviated version of a traditional Jewish religious blessing. It came to a wider public in the Star Trek TV series, where it was used there by the character Mr. Spock (actor Leonard Nimoy, himself Jewish) as the greeting of the Vulcan people. The phrase was the spoken greeting/blessing that accompanied the hand gesture called the Vulcan salute. 'Live long and prosper' is translated, if that is the correct word, from the Vulcan language phrase 'dif-tor heh smusma', which was so uttered in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The phrase echoes the Hebrew 'Shalom aleichem' and the Arabic 'Salaam alaykum', which roughly translate as 'peace be upon you'.
- Living off the fat of the land Living well; fed by abundant crops.
- Living on borrowed time Living after the time you would have expected to have died.
- Lo and behold An exclamation, on drawing others attention to something. Used especially to to announce things that are considered startling or important. The phrase is often written with an exclamation mark.
- Loaf of bread Head.
- Local derby A sporting contest between rivals from the same district. Often referring to football (soccer) matches.
- Lock, stock and barrel Lock, stock and barrel means the whole thing, entire and complete.
- Long in the tooth Old, especially of horses or people.
- Long-winded The rather derogatory expression 'long-winded' may be applied to people or to their writing. It refers to tedious, overly-lengthy or repetitive use of language. Wind has long been used as a synonym for vigour and energy. Since the 16th century authors have used 'long-winded' and 'short-winded' to denote dynamism and decrepit horses were called 'broken-winded'.
- Look before you leap Check that you are clear what is ahead of you before making a decision that you cannot go back on.
- Look yourself in the mirror Reflect on your actions or behaviour (especially when being hypocritical or unpleasant).
- Loose cannon An unpredictable person or thing, liable to cause damage if not kept in check by others.
- Loose lips sink ships Other phrases about: American origin 'Loose lips sink ships' was a wartime expression meaning 'unguarded talk may give useful information to the enemy'.
- Lose face - Save face Lose face - Be humiliated; lose one's reputation.
- Lose your marbles Lose your wits.
- Love is blind This expression is first found in Chaucer's Merchant's Tale, circa 1405: For loue is blynd alday and may nat see. It didn't at that stage become a commonly used phrase and isn't seen again in print until Shakespeare took it up. It became quite a favourite line of his and appears in several of his plays, including Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry V and this example from The Merchant Of Venice, 1596: JESSICA: Here, catch this casket; it is worth the pains. I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me, For I am much ashamed of my exchange: But love is blind and lovers cannot see The pretty follies that themselves commit; For if they could, Cupid himself would blush To see me thus transformed to a boy. Modern-day research supports the view that the blindness of love is not just a figurative matter. A research study in 2004 by University College London found that feelings of love suppressed the activity of the areas of the brain that control critical thought. Of course, we should all take note of J Mason Brewer's advice in Worser Days and Better Times, 1965 (which is described as a 'collection of negro humour'): I don't make love by the garden gate, For love is blind, but the neighbors ain't. See also: the List of Proverbs.
- Love thy neighbour Literal meaning.
- Love will find a way Love is strong and powerful enough to overcome any obstacle put before it.
- Loved-up Feeling euphoric and well-disposed towards those around you - induced by the use of drugs, notably Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
- Lovey-dovey 'Lovey-dovey' is an affectionate, somewhat childish, name for a sweetheart. More widely, the term is used to describe sentimentally loving behaviour.
- Lunatic fringe A minority group of adherents showing extreme support for a political movement or a set of beliefs.
M
- Mackerel sky A Mackerel sky is a sky that is streaked with rows of small white clouds which resemble the pattern of scales on a mackerel's back.
- Mad dogs and Englishmen The expression 'mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun' refers to the perceived naivety of the English in their disregard for the power of the sun in hot climates. The self-deprecating humour of the line derives from the fact that, in the 1930s when the song was written, few English had travelled abroad and those that did were entirely unprepared for the heat of the sun near the Equator - the sun in England rarely requiring protective measures.
- Magical realism A literary genre in which magical features and storylines appear and are accepted as everyday reality. Magical realist stories often have a dream-like landscape and call on folk-lore and myth to question the true nature of reality. Time may be manipulated to appear cyclically or in reverse, rather than in the more usual linear way. It is often unclear whether the reader is intended to view the magical or everyday elements as the more 'real'.
- Main chance The most important issue.
- Make a bee-line for Go directly towards.
- Make a clean breast of it To make a full disclosure; to confess.
- Make a rod for your own back To 'make a rod for your own back' is to do something that inadvertently creates troubles or misfortune in the future. The expression is usually used when someone has done something which seemed like a good idea at the time but comes back to bite them in some unexpected way. An example might be, "The British government made a rod for their own back when they supported Robert Mugabe becoming leader in Zimbabwe, as he spent the next 40 years denouncing them".
- Make a virtue of necessity Obtain kudos from apparently willingly doing something that one was in fact couldn't avoid doing. It is also used to mean 'submit with good grace'.
- Make an ass of yourself To make an ass of your self is to behave absurdly.
- Make haste Act quickly.
- Make hay while the sun shines Make the most of one's opportunities while you have the chance.
- Make him an offer he can't refuse The 'offer' being 'do as I say or I'll kill you'.
- Make my day Carry on with what you are doing - it will give me an excuse to behave badly.
- Make no bones about To state a fact in a way that allows no doubt. To have no objection to.
- Makes your hair stand on end Something that makes your hair stand on end is something alarming or frightening.
- Mal de mer Seasickness.
- Man does not live by bread alone Physical nourishment is not sufficient for a healthy life; man also has spiritual needs.
- Man's best friend An animal that performs valuable service to humans, often with reference to dogs.
- Man's inhumanity to man Literal meaning.
- Many a little makes a mickle Many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount.
- Many a true word is spoken in jest A literal meaning; that the truth is often found in comic utterances.
- Many are called but few are chosen Literal meaning, alluding to the variety in qualities of humankind.
- Many hands make light work Having more people available to help in a task makes the task easier to complete and succeed at.
- Many happy returns Have many more happy days, especially birthdays.
- Mare's nest A much vaunted discovery, which later turns out to be illusory or worthless.
- Marital aid A euphemism for a sex toy or any device intended to enhance sexual stimulation.
- Market forces The economic factors affecting the price and availability of a commodity or product in a free market
- Marry in haste, repent at leisure Literal meaning.
- May you live in interesting times May you experience much disorder and trouble in your life.
- Mea culpa I'm to blame. The literal translation from the Latin is 'through my own fault'. Even those who don't speak Latin could probably make a guess that this phrase means 'I am culpable', or words to that effect.
- Meat and two veg. Meat and two vegetables, that is, meat with potatoes and another vegetable, is a traditional English meal.
- Meet your Waterloo Arrive at a final decisive contest.
- Memory lane An imaginary idyllic place where people take sentimental journeys through their memories of past experiences. The expression is often used in its extended forms - 'a trip down memory lane' or 'walk down memory lane'.
- Men in suits Businessmen/bureaucrats/soldiers and the like who follow convention and the company line. Also called just 'suits'.
- Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water This Shakespearian saying expresses the notion that, while we recall well anything done to harm us, we forget quickly the good others do. A modern phrase that expresses a similaridea is Monty Python's "What have the Romans ever done for us?". The characters in that sketch claim that "The Romans have taken everything from us" and offered nothing in return except aqueducts, sanitation, roads, irrigation, medicine, education, wine, public baths and peace.
- Ménage à trois A living arrangement comprising three people (not all of the same sex) in a sexual relationship. Alternatively, a sexual liaison between such a group of people.
- Mend fences Re-establish good relations with people one has disagreed with.
- Merry Christmas The traditional greeting at Christmas - very commonly used on Christmas cards.
- Middle for diddle A rhyme used to decide who starts a darts match.
- Middle of the road Other phrases with American origin Something unadventurous or inoffensive; opting to go neither one way or the other.
- Might and main With might and main is 'with all of one's strength'.
- Mighty oaks from little acorns grow Great things may come from small beginnings.
- Milk of human kindness Care and compassion for others.
- Minced oath The English, being a restrained lot, have a long list of euphemistic phrases, many of which became part of the language before it spread to other parts of the world. The root cause of these is a wish to communicate without being explicit. This is something the English are particularly fond of, hence their long tradition of double-entendre comedy. Minced oaths are a sub-group of euphemisms used to avoid swearing when expressing surprise or annoyance. If you hit your thumb with a hammer when great aunt Edith is in the room what do you say? It's probably going to be a minced oath. Shakespeare might have resorted to 'gadzooks' (God's hooks - referring to the nails in the cross), we might try 'shoot' or 'freaking heck'. They are usually, although not exclusively, religious in nature and date from the days when it wasn't acceptable to use the name of God, Jesus or other religious notables in everyday speech. To mince your words, or mince matters, means to choose words so as not to offend anyone. Some example are 'Jiminy Cricket' (Jesus Christ), 'dagnamit' (God damn it'), 'for Pete's sake' (for St. Peter's sake). It's interesting that, while we continue to generate new euphemisms, new minced oaths are few and far between. Perhaps that's because, while there are still taboos about discussing death, disability, homosexuality etc, the restrictions on swearing out loud when surprised or annoyed have slackened somewhat. There are many examples: Begorrah --> By God Bejabbers --> By Jesus Bleeding heck --> Bloody Hell Blimey --> Blind me Blinking heck --> Bloody Hell By George --> By God By golly --> By God's body By gosh --> By God By gum --> By God By Jove --> By God Cheese and Rice --> Jesus Christ Chrissakes --> For Christ's sake Christmas --> Christ Cor blimey --> God blind me Crikey --> Christ Criminy --> Christ Cripes --> Christ Crivvens --> Christ defend us Dad gum --> God damn Dagnabbit --> God damn it Dagnammit --> God damn it Dang --> Damn Dangnabbit --> God damn it Dangnation --> Damnation Darn --> Damn Darnation --> Damnation Doggone --> God damn Drat --> God rot it Egad --> A God For crying out loud --> For Christ's sake For Pete's sake --> For St. Peter's sake For the love of Mike --> For St. Michael's sake Gadzooks --> God's hooks Gat Dangit --> God damn it Gee --> Jesus Gee whizz --> Jesus Gee willikers --> Jesus Godfrey Daniel --> God Golly Gee willikers --> Jesus Good garden party --> Good God Good grief --> Good God Goodness gracious --> Good God Gorblimey --> God blind me Gosh --> God Gosh darned --> God damned Heck --> Hell Jason Crisp --> Jesus Christ Jebus --> Jesus Jeepers Creepers --> Jesus Christ Jeez --> Jesus Jeezy Creezy --> Jesus Christ Jehosaphat --> Jesus Jiminy Christmas --> Jesus Christ Jiminy Cricket --> Jesus Christ Judas Priest --> Jesus Christ Land sakes --> For the Lord's sake Lawks a mercy --> Lord have mercy My goodness --> My God My gosh --> My God Odds-bodkins --> God's sweet body Sacré bleu --> Sang de Dieu (God's blood) Sam Hill --> Hell Strewth --> God's Truth Suffering succotash --> Suffering Saviour Tarnation --> Damnation What in Sam Hill? --> What in damn Hell? Wish to goodness --> Wish to God Zounds --> God's wounds
- Mind your Ps and Qs Be on your best behaviour; be careful of your language. Ps and Qs are just the plurals of the letters P and Q. There is some disagreement amongst grammarians about how to spell Ps and Qs - either upper-case or lower-case and either with or without an apostrophe. You may see the phrase as 'mind your p's and q's' or 'mind your Ps and Qs' or 'mind your P's and Q's' or (less often) as 'mind your ps and qs'. I've opted for Ps and Qs. Doubts also exist as to the original meaning. Francis Grose, in his 1785 edition of the Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, defines it like this: "To mind one's P's and Q's; to be attentive to the main chance."
- Mind's ear One's aural memory or imagination.
- Mint condition A condition of perfection or newness suggestive of that of a freshly minted coin.
- Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows From Shakespeare's The Tempest, 1610: Alas, the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past.
- Moaning Minnie A habitual grumbler.
- Money for old rope A profitable return for little effort.
- Monstrous regiment of women A disparaging description, often used to describe feminist or rowdy women by their detractors.
- Montezuma's revenge The diarrhoea (spelled in America as diarrhea) that is often suffered by tourists when travelling to foreign parts.
- Moot point An irrelevant argument.
- Morbid obesity The condition of having a body weight high enough to pose a severe risk to health. This is informally measured as having a body weight which is more than twice the optimum. It is indicated more precisely by a 'body mass index' of 40 or over (BMI = the weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres).
- More bang for your buck More for your money.
- More fool you Said in reply to someone who has reported doing something that is considered to be obviously foolish.
- More haste, less speed This proverbial saying suggest that, if you try and do something quickly you will make mistakes and take longer in the end.
- More honoured in the breach than in the observance This is usually thought to mean a rule which is more often broken than observed. The context of the play shows the real meaning as 'it is more honourable to breach than to observe'.
- Morning person Someone who functions better in the morning, as compared to later in the day.
- Mother country One's native land, or the native land of one's ancestors.
- Motley crew An assorted and ill-disciplined group of ne'er do wells.
- Mouth-watering Delicious; tasty enough to make you salivate.
- Move the needle To change a situation or circumstance to a noticeable, or discernible, and measurable amount.
- Movers and shakers People of energetic demeanour, who initiate change and influence events.
- Moving the goalposts Changing the target of a process or competition to by one side in order to gain advantage.
- Much ado about nothing 'Much ado about nothing' means 'a great deal of fuss over a thing of little importance'.
- Much of a muchness Similar - difficult to distinguish.
- Mull over To 'mull something over' is to turn it over in one's mind, in a reflective way.
- Mum's the word 'Mum's the word' means 'keep quiet - say nothing'.
- Mumbo jumbo Nonsense, especially meaningless speech and often associated with spurious religious ritual.
- Murphy's Law The so-called law is usually expressed as 'If anything can go wrong, it will'.
- Music has charms to soothe the savage breast Literal meaning. That literal meaning is open to misinterpretation as this phrase is frequently written as 'music has charms to soothe the savage beast'.
- Mutt and Jeff When written and pronounced as Mutt 'n' Jeff this has the meaning deaf. It is also a slang term for the 'good cop/bad cop' method of police interrogation or any other pair of people or items which are contrasting in size or nature.
- Mutton dressed as lamb 'Mutton dressed as lamb' is a put-down aimed at an ageing woman who is dressed or made up of someone much younger.
- My bad My mistake - I'm to blame.
- My better half My husband or my wife.
- My cup of tea Something or someone that one finds pleasing.
- My cup runneth over 'My cup runneth over' means 'I have more than enough for my needs'.
- My giddy aunt An exclamation of surprise.
- My husband and I This turn of phrase has often been used by Queen Elizabeth II in public speeches. The Queen married the Duke of Edinburgh (formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) on 20 November 1947. Since that day he has been resigned to walking a few paces behind her in public. Putting the husband first in 'my husband and I' was a device used to indicate the dominance of the male in marriage - Elizabeth emphasized this by using the traditional 'honour and obey' pledge at her wedding. The stilted 'my husband and I' became rather out of touch with modern thoughts about marriage and was satirized in the UK in the 1960s and onwards. The Queen now rarely, if ever, uses the phrase. Her consciousness of the notoriety of the phrase was tacitly acknowledged when she wheeled it out for a late airing in her speech at Guildhall, London in November 1972, on the occasion of her 25th wedding anniversary: "I think that everybody really will concede that on this, of all days, I should begin my speech with the words 'My husband and I'".
- My mind's eye One's visual memory or imagination.
- My old china Affectionate term for a friend.
- My old Dutch An affectionate term for wife.
- My way or the highway The idiom 'my way or the highway' forcefully expresses the view that 'you can take it or leave it'. In fact, it really means 'take it or leave', as the highway refers to the road the listener should go down if they don't agree with the speaker. What is implied when the term is used by the boss in a work situation is that the employees are expected to agree to some proposal or 'hit the highway'. That is, no discussion is necessary or allowed - do it the boss's way or be fired.
N
- Nail your colours to the mast To defiantly display one's opinions and beliefs. Also, to show one's intention to hold on to those beliefs until the end.
- Namby-pamby Childish and weakly sentimental.
- Name and shame The publication of the identity of a person or group that is culpable in some anti-social act in order to shame them into remorse.
- Nasty, brutish and short 'Nasty, brutish and short' is a 17th century phrase describing the life of mankind when in a state of war.
- Nature versus nurture The expression 'nature or nurture' is often used to refer to the debate about the relative importance of genetics (nature) versus upbringing and environment (nurture) in shaping an individual's traits, behaviour and development.
- Ne'er cast a clout till May be out 'Ne'er cast a clout till May be out' is an English proverb. The earliest citation is this version of the rhyme from Dr. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia: A Collection of the Proverbs, Maxims and Adages That Inspired Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard's Almanack, 1732, although it may have existed in word-of-mouth form well before that: "Leave not off a Clout Till May be out. What's the meaning of the phrase 'Ne'er cast a clout till May be out'? Let's look first at the 'cast a clout' part. The word 'clout', although archaic, is straightforward. Since at least the early 15th century 'clout' has been used variously to mean 'a blow to the head', 'a clod of earth or (clotted) cream' or 'a fragment of cloth, or clothing'. It is the last of these that is meant in 'cast a clout'. This was spelled variously spelled as clowt, clowte, cloot, clute. Here's an early example, from the Early English Miscellanies in Prose and Verse, circa 1485: "He had not left an holle clowt, Wherwith to hyde hys body abowte." So, 'ne'er cast a clout...' simply means 'never discard your [warm winter] clothing...'. The 'till May be out' part is where the doubt lies. On the face of it this means 'until the month of May is ended'. There is another interpretation. In England, in May, you can't miss the Hawthorn. It is an extremely common tree in the English countryside, especially in hedges. Hawthorns are virtually synonymous with hedges. As many as 200,000 miles of hawthorn hedge were planted in the Parliamentary Enclosure period, between 1750 and 1850. The name 'Haw' derives from 'hage', the Old English for 'hedge'. The tree gives its beautiful display of flowers in late April/early May. It is known as the May Tree and the blossom itself is called May. Using that allusion, 'till May is out' could mean, 'until the hawthorn is out [in bloom]'. Other rhymes in which May is ambiguous are: - April showers bring forth May flowers. - Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. (Shakespeare's Sonnet 18) The Hawthorn has long been a potent symbol of rebirth and appears, as May, in other old rhymes; for example, 'Here we go gathering nuts in May'. That is probably a corruption of 'here we go gathering knots of May [blossom]'. After all, there are no nuts to collect in England until Autumn - certainly not in May. Putting the case for the month, as opposed to the flower... A French proverb - 'En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil; en mai, fais ce qui te plaît'. This translates as 'In April, do not shed a single thread; in May, do as you please', which has much the same meaning as 'ne'er cast a clout...'. Captain John Stevens's work, 'A New Spanish and English Dictionary', published in London in 1706, translates a Spanish proverb, as "Do not leave off your Coat till May be past". Those rhymes may well have originated in England and migrated across the Channel. It is difficult to understand why the Spanish would coin such a proverb, which would seem a little cautious for that part of the world - the average temperature in Seville in May is 20°C. Quite a few correspondents from Spain, and some also from France and Italy, have pointed out a locale version of the phrase which goes: 'Hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo', that is, 'Don't leave off you coat till May 40th' There is a homegrown version that supports the 'month' theory - a fuller version of the rhyme, which goes: "Button to chin, till May be in, Cast not a clout till May be out" The first line appears to have been added later and can't be found earlier than the 20th century. It clearly refers to the month though, as May blossom can come out, but can hardly be expected to go back in again, which indicates that whoever coined this additional line thought that way. There's an explicit mention of the month in the version of the rhyme from F. K. Robertson's Whitby Gazette, 1855: The wind at North and East Was never good for man nor beast So never think to cast a clout Until the month of May be out Wise words for the North Sea-facing Whitby, which can't match Seville and can be icy cold even in mid-summer. All in all, although the May blossom interpretation seems appealing, the 'May' in this proverb is the month of May.
- Ne'er do well A worthless, good for nothing person.
- Near the knuckle Just at the limit of acceptability, especially regarding sexual morals.
- Necessity is the mother of invention Other Quotations Difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.
- Neck of the woods Neighbourhood, region or area..
- Needs must Necessity compels. In current usage this phrase is usually used to express something that is done unwillingly but with an acceptance that it can't be avoided; for example, I really don't want to cook tonight, but needs must, I suppose.
- Neither a borrower nor a lender be Literal meaning.
- Neither here nor there Of no consequence either one way or the other.
- Nerves of steel Very brave, confident and courageous, with a calm and collected demeanour, even in particularly stressful situations.
- Never give a sucker an even break Literal meaning, but usually used for comic effect.
- Never knowingly undersold The slogan of the John Lewis Partnership from the 1920s.
- Never the twain shall meet Two things which are so different as to have no opportunity to unite.
- Never-Never land A utopian dreamland.
- Nevertheless Nevertheless, and its stable-mate nonetheless, which means much the same thing, take a little explaining... These words always appear as the counter argument to some earlier stated fact. The general form is 'Fact A may be true but, despite that, the seemingly incompatible fact B is no less true. Perhaps it's easier to explain with an example... "My job isn't very well paid; nevertheless, I love it". So, nevertheless/nonetheless are used where you might use synonyms like 'despite that', 'even so', 'however', 'yet'.
- New kid on the block A new arrival in an area or in a group of young friends.
- Night owl A person who is active late at night.
- Night soil Euphemism for human faeces.
- Nine days' wonder A novelty that loses its appeal after a few days.
- Nip and tuck A nip and tuck race race or contest is one with close result. More recently, 'Nip and tuck' has been adopted as the name of a cosmetic surgery procedure.
- Nip in the bud To nip something in the bud is to put a stop to it while it is still in its early development.
- Nitty-gritty Other phrases with American origin Reduplicated phrases The heart of the matter; the basic essentials. The phrase is usually used in the extended form 'get down to the nitty-gritty'.
- No dice The expression 'no dice' is a refusal to accept a proposition - equivalent to 'nothing doing'.
- No hard feelings No unresolved strong negative emotions/issues.
- No holds barred Without restrictions or rules.
- No laughing matter Not a subject for levity.
- No love lost 'There's no love lost between them' is used to describe a relationship between two people who dislike each each. When someone refers to someone else and says 'there's no love lost' it means 'I'm not going to waste any love on him/her'.
- No man is an island The phrase 'no man is an island' expresses the idea that human beings do badly when isolated from others and need to be part of a community in order to thrive. John Donne, who wrote the work that the phrase comes from, was a Christian but this concept is shared by other religions, principally Buddhism.
- No more cakes and ale? Cakes and ale are synonymous with the good life, like beer and skittles.
- No names, no pack-drill Say nothing and avoid repercussions.
- No rest for the wicked 'No rest for the wicked has a literal meaning - that the wicked shall be tormented in Hell.
- No room to swing a cat An awkwardly small, confined space.
- No way, Jose Absolutely not; never.
- Nosy parker A 'nosy parker', sometimes spelled 'nosey parker', is a person of an overly inquisitive or prying nature.
- Not a dicky-bird Not a sound; not an utterance.
- Not by a long chalk Not by any means; a good distance away from being true. It is used for emphasis when something a described as being far from its mark. For example, "£100,000 isn't enough to buy a house in London - not by a long chalk".
- Not by a long shot Not by any means; a good distance away from being true. It is used for emphasis when something a described as being far from its mark. For example, "$100,000 isn't enough to buy a house in New York - not by a long shot".
- Not for all the tea in China Not at any price.
- Not playing with a full deck 'Not playing with a full deck' might be said about someone who was considered stupid.
- Not tonight Joséphine This is the supposed response by Napoleon Bonaparte when declining sex with Empress Joséphine.
- Not worth a plugged nickel Worthless.
- Not worth the candle Something might be considered to be 'not worth the candle' if is too insignificant or worthless to be worth bothering with.
- Nothing is certain but death and taxes A rather fatalistic and sardonic proverb. It draws on the actual inevitability of death to highlight the difficulty in avoiding the burden of taxes.
- Nothing succeeds like success A proverb, expressing the idea that success breeds further success.
- Nothing ventured, nothing gained In order to achieve, you need to act and take risks.
- Now is the winter of our discontent 'Now is the winter of our discontent' express the idea that we have reached the depth of our unhappiness and that better times are ahead.
- Nul points 'No points' - the lowest possible score awarded to performers in the Eurovision Song Contest. The term is also sometimes used as a jokey judgement on any hopelessly inept performance. This is sometimes accompanied by the raising of imaginary cards showing zero, in a mock simulation of the scoring in ice-skating competitions.
O
- O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? The literal meaning of 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?' would appear to be 'Where are you Romeo?'. In fact, using the meaning of wherefore that would have been commonplace in Shakespeare's day, the playright suggested the meaning of 'For what reason are you Romeo?'.
- O ye, of little faith This is the rebuke levelled at the disciples of Christ, when seeming to doubt his divinity. The phrase is also more widely used to describe any Christian doubter. In a secular setting it may be intended as a humorous jibe when doubting someone's abilities.
- Odds bodkins God's body.
- Off his own bat By an individual's own efforts.
- Off the record Other phrases with American origin Something said in confidence that the speaker doesn't want attributed to them.
- Off with his head Literal meaning. That is, 'chop off his head'. It is now usually used humorously as a means of mildly reproaching someone.
- Oh, my stars and garters A jocular exclamation or expression of astonishment.
- Oh, that way madness lies From Shakespeare's King Lear, 1605: KING LEAR: Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm Invades us to the skin: so 'tis to thee; But where the greater malady is fix'd, The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'ldst shun a bear; But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea, Thou'ldst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind's free, The body's delicate: the tempest in my mind Doth from my senses take all feeling else Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude! Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand For lifting food to't? But I will punish home: No, I will weep no more. In such a night To shut me out! Pour on; I will endure. In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril! Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all,-- O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; No more of that.
- Oh, they have slain the Earl of Moray and Lady Mondegreen The misheard lyric that was the source of the generic term for misheard lyrics - mondegreens.
- Okay Satisfactory - all correct.
- Okey-dokey Other phrases with American origin Reduplicated phrases 'Okey-dokey' is just an extended form of 'okay'. There are some alternative meanings, coined in the late 20th century and limited to the USA, e.g. 'absurd or ridiculous' and 'to swindle or deceive'.
- Old chestnut Other phrases with American origin A story that has been told repeatedly before, a 'venerable' joke. Hence, in extended use, anything trite, stale, or too often repeated.
- Old codger An old man, especially one who is eccentric, curmudgeonly or grotesque.
- Old fogey An old fogey is someone, usually an elderly man, with old-fashioned or conservative attitudes and appearance.
- Old hat Old-fashioned; hackneyed.
- Old soldiers never die The proverb 'Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away' is a rather melancholic notion that, long after they have outlived the wars they fought, old soldiers are forgotten and their passing ignored.
- Olive the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names Misheard lyric.
- Olly olly oxen free The game is over and everyone can come out of hiding.
- On a hiding to nothing To be faced with a situation which is pointless, as a successful outcome is impossible. This is usually expressed in terms of a sporting contest in which one of two outcomes is foreseen, either a hiding or nothing. The 'to' in the phrase indicates alternative outcomes, as in terms like '6 to 1' or 'dollars to doughnuts'. The phrase has two applications. One scenario would be that of a team which is expected to win easily but has the betting odds so strongly in its favour that no kudos or reward, that is, 'nothing' , would be gained from victory. The other is that of a weak contestant who is expected to be beaten, that is, get 'a hiding'.
- On a wing and a prayer In a difficult situation, relying on meagre resources and luck to get out of it.
- On Carey Street Euphemism for being bankrupt or in debt.
- On cloud nine To be 'on cloud nine' is to be in a state of blissful happiness.
- On song Doing well. (In terms of playing, performing, functioning or operating.)
- On tenterhooks To be 'on tenterhooks' is to be in a state of uncomfortable suspense or impatience.
- On the ball To be alert; in command of one's senses.
- On the bubble Other phrases with American origin On the threshold; finely balanced between success and failure; for example, if a qualifying competition for an event allowed the top eight runners to proceed to the next round then those who were close to qualification and could get through by a small increase in performance would be said to be 'on the bubble'.
- On the button Just right; exactly on target or at exactly the right time.
- On the dole Unemployed and in receipt of state benefit. This expression is used worldwide but most commonly in the UK and Australia.
- On the fiddle Engaged in a fraud.
- On the mend Getting better following an illness or need of improvement.
- On the nose A bet on a horse to win.
- On the pig's back To be in luck; in a prosperous happy state.
- On the QT On the quiet.
- On the side of the angels (Originally) Supporting the theory of the divine creation. (More commonly) Acting in accordance with principles regarded as morally virtuous.
- On the wagon 'On the wagon' - abstaining from alcohol. 'Off the wagon' - returned to drinking after an attempt to give it up.
- On the warpath Intent on a confrontation or fight.
- On with the motley Prepare for a stage performance. Latterly also used more widely just to mean let's begin or let's continue.
- On your beam ends Hard up; in a bad situation.
- On your tod On your own.
- Once bitten, twice shy The proverb 'once bitten, twice shy' suggests that, when someone is hurt doing something, they are wary of doing it again for fear of being hurt a second time. It is frequently used to describe the feelings of someone who has been hurt by a failed romance.
- Once in a blue moon Very rarely.
- Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more Let us try again one more time.
- One foot in the grave To be near to death.
- One for the road A final drink taken just before leaving on a journey.
- One good turn deserves another 'One good turn deserves another' is a proverbial expression that means, when someone does you a good turn, a good turn done in return is appropriate.
- One hand washes the other The proverb 'one hand washes the other' expresses the idea that mutual cooperation can help both parties. It is similar to other proverbs, like 'one good turn deserves another' and 'you scratch my back and I'll scrtach yours.
- One man's meat is another man's poison The proverbial saying 'One man's meat is another man's poison' puts forward the idea that what is agreeable to one may be distasteful to another.
- One over the eight The final drink that renders someone drunk.
- One sandwich short of a picnic A jokey, colloquial term for stupid.
- One stop shop A location, usually a shop, where various requirements can be met in one place.
- One swallow doesn't make a summer A single instance of something is just that; it doesn't indicate a trend.
- One-hit wonder A performer or act, usually a singer or band, who has just one popular success.
- One’s head on a plate A very harsh punishment for a wrong deed or crime.
- Oompa Loompa Other phrases with Reduplicated phrases 'Oompa Loompa' is the name Roald Dahl used for the group of diminutive factory workers in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. More recently, it has also been used more generally as a disparaging name for anyone of small stature or orange tinted skin.
- Open season A time when criticism or other negative actions may be expected, with no mercy shown.
- Out of kilter Out of order; in poor health or spirits.
- Out of sight Excellent; extraordinary.
- Out of sight, out of mind The idea that something is easily forgotten or dismissed as unimportant if it is not in our direct view.
- Out of sorts To be 'out of sorts' is to be mildly unwell; not in one's usual health or state of mind.
- Out of the frying pan into the fire To jump 'out of the frying pan into the fire' means 'to escape from one evil only to succumb a greater one'.
- Out of the jaws of death Saved from great danger.
- Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings From the Bible, King James Version: Psalms 8:2: Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Matthew 21:16: And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
- Over a barrel To be 'over a barrel' is to be left without choice; in someone else's power.
- Over and out This conversation is finished. (Or I have finished talking and am not waiting for your response.)
- Over the moon Very happy or delighted.
- Over the top To an excessive degree; beyond reasonable or acceptable limits.
- Over-egg the pudding To 'over-egg the pudding' is to go too far in exaggerating or embellishing something - to adorn or supply to excess.
- Oversexed, overpaid and over here Comic line, making fun of the US Army in Europe in WWII. There was a good humoured banter between the GIs that were stationed in Britain prior to and during WWII and the British citizenry. The GIs had a come-back - calling the Brits, "underpaid, undersexed and under Eisenhower". Conditions were harsh in Britain in the early 1940s and there was also an undercurrent of unease that was conveyed by the phrase, especially amongst British men, who resented the attraction of GIs, with their ready supply of nylons and cigarettes, amongst British women. The English artist Beryl Cook, who was in her late teens at the time, later made this observation in a broadcast interview: 'food was scarce, but we supplemented our income by a little impromptu whoring with the GIs - we all did it'. What was meant by whoring there isn't clear and it may just have been a reference to flirtatious dalliance in exchange for nylons and chocolate. Indeed, many of these liaisons were love matches rather than commercial transactions, as the thousands of marriages between US servicemen and British women (the GI brides) is evidence of. The line was also used in Australia, in much the same context, although appearances of it in newspapers there post-date those in Britain and the USA.
- Oxo cube The Tube (London Underground train).
P
- P. D. Q. Other phrases with American origin Pretty damn quick.
- Paddle your own canoe Other phrases with American origin To paddle your own canoe is to act independently and decide your own fate.
- Paint the town red To 'paint the town red' is to engage in a riotous spree.
- Pales into insignificance Appears much less important when compared with something else (to the point of becoming not at all significant).
- Panic stations A state of high alert, often a simulated panic for comic effect.
- Paper tiger A person who appears to have power but is in reality ineffectual.
- Parting shot A final remark, usually cutting or derogatory, made just before departing.
- Pass away Euphemism for dying.
- Pass muster Other phrases with Military origin To 'pass muster' originally meant 'pass military inspection without censure'. More recently it is used more generally to mean 'come up to the required standard'.
- Pass over to the other side 'Passing over to the other side' is a euphemism for dying.
- Pass the buck Other phrases with American origin To 'pass the buck' is to evade responsibility by passing it on to someone else.
- Pearls before swine Items of quality offered to those who aren't cultured enough to appreciate them.
- Pears for your heirs An adage to encourage us to think long-term and look after future generations.
- Pecking order 'Pecking order' is the name given to a form of hierarchy in which the most dominant takes precedence.
- Peeping Tom A voyeur. A man who furtively observes naked or sexually active people for his own gratification.
- Peg out Die.
- Pell-mell In disorderly confusion; with reckless haste.
- Pennies from heaven Money acquired without effort or risk. The phrase is applied to any unexpected benefits, but especially financial ones.
- Penny dreadful A cheap publication, containing melodramas written in a colourful and down-market style.
- Penny wise and pound foolish Careful with one's spending of small sums of money but careless and wasteful with larger amounts.
- Penny-pinching Parsimonious; mean with money.
- Perfect is the enemy of good The phrase encourages its recipient to just get started and not worry too much about making things perfect.
- Pester power The power children have, by repeated nagging, of influencing their parents to buy advertised or fashionable items.
- Peter out Dwindle away to nothing.
- Petty cash An easily accessible store of money, intended for small purchases.
- Physician, heal thyself Attend to one's own faults, in preference to pointing out the faults of others. The phrase alludes to the readiness and ability of physicians to heal sickness in others while sometimes not being able or willing to heal themselves. This suggests something of 'the cobbler always wears the worst shoes', that is, cobblers are too poor and busy to attend to their own footwear. It also suggests that physicians, while often being able to help the sick, cannot always do so and, when sick themselves, are no better placed than anyone else.
- Pick 'n' mix A range of sweets, chocolates, ice-creams etc., from which a selection can be made.
- Pick your battles To be selective of the issues, problems, confrontations and debates that you get involved in, focusing only on those that are most important or winnable.
- Picture-perfect Other phrases with American origin A faultless image.
- Pie in the sky A promise of heaven, while continuing to suffer in this life.
- Piece-of-piss A straightforward task that can easily be accomplished.
- Pierce the veil To go beneath the surface to uncover a deeper truth.
- Pig and whistle A popular name for British pubs.
- Pig's ear As 'pig's ear' - Cockney rhyming slang for beer. As 'in a pig's ear' - an expression of disbelief. As 'make a pig's ear of ' - make a mess or muddle.
- Pigeon-chested Having a narrow chest with a protruding breastbone - alluding to the appearance of pigeons.
- Piggy-wiggy Other Reduplicated phrases 'Piggy-wiggy' is a pet name for a pig. It is also used as a term of endearment or, as an insult, a reference to someone who is overweight.
- Piggyback To ride piggyback is to be carried on the back and shoulders of another person. Often, the person being carried is a child, either by an adult or another child. More recently the term has been applied to any person or process that is carried along by another.
- Pigs might fly / When pigs fly 'Pigs might fly' is a humorous/ironic remark, used to indicate the unlikeliness of some event or to mock the credulity of others. For example: "I might make a start on papering the back bedroom tomorrow". "Yes, and pigs might fly".
- Pin money Originally a small allowance given to a woman in order to purchase clothes etc. for herself. More recently it is used to describe any small amount of money which might be earned by children or the low-paid for some service.
- Pip-pip Pip-pip is, or rather was, colloquial greeting or word of farewell, typically used by the English upper and middle classes in the first half of the 20th century.
- Pipe down Other phrases about: Sailing and the sea A request to be quiet.
- Pipe dream Other phrases with American origin A 'pipe dream' is an unrealistic hope or fantasy.
- Piping hot Very hot, usually referring to food.
- Pitch dark Pitch dark means intensely dark, usually in reference to a moonless, starless night.
- Plain sailing 'Plain sailing' means easy and untroubled progress.
- Plates of meat Feet.
- Play by ear Initially, this referred to the playing of music without reference to printed notation. More recently it is also used figuratively to mean 'handle a situation in an impromptu manner', that is, without reference to pre-determined rules or guidelines.
- Play ducks and drakes To play ducks and drakes is to behave recklessly; to idly squander one's wealth.
- Play fast and loose Be inconstant and unreliable.
- Play gooseberry To play gooseberry is to act as a chaperone to a couple who are romantically inclined.
- Play it again Sam Bogart's supposed line from Casablanca. This is well-known as one of the most widely misquoted lines from films. The actual line in the film is 'Play it, Sam'. Something approaching 'Play it again, Sam' is first said in the film by Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) in an exchange with the piano player 'Sam' (Dooley Wilson): Probably the most misquoted line in cinema history. Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. Sam: I don't know what you mean, Miss Ilsa. Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By." Sam: Oh, I can't remember it, Miss Ilsa. I'm a little rusty on it. Ilsa: I'll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum... Ilsa: Sing it, Sam. The line is usually associated with Humphrey Bogart and later in the film his character Rick Blaine has a similar exchange, although his line is simply 'Play it': Rick: You know what I want to hear. Sam: No, I don't. Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me! Sam: Well, I don't think I can remember... Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!
- Play second fiddle To 'play second fiddle' is to take a subordinate position to another person.
- Play the race card To attempt to gain advantage in an election by pandering to the electorate's racism. Also, more recently, to attempt to gain advantage by drawing attention to one's race.
- Plug-ugly Extremely ugly, usually of people.
- Poetic justice The allocation of an ideal form of justice, where virtue is rewarded and infamy punished, as befitting a work of poetry or drama.
- Point Percy at the porcelain 'Point Percy at the porcelain' is a comic reference to urinating.
- Point to point A race, usually a horse-race, in a direct line across countryside. The term has also migrated to other areas which involve transit from one specific point to another; for example, direct air transport from one city to another and the 'P2P [Point to Point] Protocol' used in Internet communications.
- Point-and-click Relating to digital equipment, for example a camera or computer interface, in which action action is performed as the result of a single clicked button press.
- Point-blank range Literally, point-blank range means 'close enough to go directly to a target'. In common usage it means' too close to miss'.
- Politically correct 'Politically correct' is that which used language that conforms to liberal or radical opinion by avoiding anything which might cause offence to or disadvantage social minorities.
- Pommy-bashing Australian slang term for attacks on the English.
- Pomp and circumstance An ostentatious display of ceremonial grandeur.
- Pond life A worthless or stupid person or group.
- Pony and trap Rubbish; nonsense, or 'of poor quality'. Often shortened just to 'pony'.
- Pony up Pay money, especially a payment that is in arrears.
- Pop goes the weasel The name of the nursery rhyme and song.
- Pop your clogs To 'pop your clogs' is to die.
- Popular fallacies - the coffin quartet
- Pork pies Lies. Often shortened to 'porkies'.
- POSH - Port out, starboard home To be posh is to be elegant, swanky, rich. Also, briefly in mid-20th century UK, posh was used to mean 'nonsense'.
- Pound of flesh Something which is owed that is ruthlessly required to be paid back.
- Pour oil on troubled waters Attempt to calm a problematic situation.
- Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely The proverbial saying 'power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely' conveys the opinion that, as a person's power increases, their moral sense diminishes.
- Power dressing A stylish and expensive clothing style, intended to convey the impression of assertiveness and competence and predominantly worn by women.
- Praying at the porcelain altar 'Praying at the porcelain altar' is a comic reference to kneeling and vomiting down the toilet.
- Preaching to the choir To (pointlessly) try to convince a person or group to accept an opinion that they already agree with.
- Preposterous The word preposterous is now chiefly used to mean absurd; ridiculous, although it originally has a specific and literal meaning - see below.
- Press into service Induce someone to join the military. More recently the phrase is used to mean 'make impromptu use of' some article or person to fulfil some task - usually someone or thing that isn't normally used for such a task.
- Presto chango 'Presto chango' is an exclamation used by conjurers and jugglers to signal an instantaneous or magical transformation. It is interchangeable with 'abracadabra' and is often written with an exclamation mark - 'Presto chango!'.
- Prick up your ears To begin listening attentively.
- Pride comes before a fall The proverbial saying 'pride comes before a fall' is a warning that haughtiness and hubris leads to failure and loss.
- Prim and proper Neat, tidy, correct, traditional, formal, polite, well-presented/groomed/mannered.
- Prime time Other phrases about: American origin Theatre and entertainment 'Prime time' is the time of day when the TV audience is at its largest.
- Primrose path The pleasant route through life, of pleasure and dissipation.
- Private parts Euphemism for the sexual organs.
- Procrastination is the thief of time Putting off an action leads to time wasting. If something is necessary, it is best to act quickly to accomplish it.
- Pull out all the stops Make every possible effort.
- Pull the wool over your eyes To pull the wool over someone's eyes is to deceive or hoodwink them.
- Pull up stakes Other phrases with American origin To move home. Sometimes also given as 'pull up sticks'.
- Pull your finger out Hurry up; make every possible effort.
- Pull your horns in Restrain one's ardour; lower one's ambitions.
- Pull yourself up by your bootstraps To 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' is to improve your situation by your own unaided efforts.
- Pulling one's leg To pull someone's leg is deceive them in a humorous or playful way.
- Punch above one's weight Competing against someone who you are no match for.
- Purple patch An overly elaborate or effusive piece of writing. Also, a period of notable success or good luck.
- Push the boat out To spend generously. To spend more than one is normally accustomed to doing, often to mark a special occasion.
- Push the envelope Other phrases with American origin To attempt to extend the current limits of performance. To innovate, or go beyond commonly accepted boundaries.
- Put a damper on Make dishearted, especially to diminish interest in something that was previously exciting.
- Put a sock in it A request to be quiet.
- Put on the wooden overcoat To 'put on the wooden overcoat' is to die.
- Put on your thinking cap Take time for consideration of some question.
- Put paid to To deal with effectively; to finish something off.
- Put the cart before the horse Reverse the accepted or logical order of things.
- Put the mockers on To thwart someone's efforts or cause them to have bad luck. Also, to have the mockers on - to be cursed with bad luck.
- Put the wood in the hole Close the door.
- Put to sleep Euphemism for killing - usually of an animal.
- Put up your dukes Put up your fists and prepare to fight.
- Put your back up Make one angry.
- Put your best foot forward Embark on a journey or task with purpose and gusto.
- Put your nose out of joint Hurt your feelings or upset your plans.
- Put your oar in To put your oar in is to interfere or get involved in an unwelcome way. The expression is most commonly used in the UK and less so now than in the past.
- Put your shoulder to the wheel To 'put your shoulder to the wheel' is to respond to a problem by applying oneself and making your best effort. It is similar in meaning to 'get stuck in'.
- Pyrrhic victory A victory gained at too great a cost.
Q
- Quality time Other phrases with American origin Time in which individual attention is given to an otherwise neglected child or partner.
- Quantum leap A sudden, very noticable and significant advance.
- Queer Street An imaginary street where people in difficulty live.
- Queer the pitch (Originally) interfere with or spoil the business of a tradesman or showman. (More recently) spoil the business at hand.
- Quicker than lager turns to piss Very quick.
- Quid pro quo Something given in return for a item of equivalent value - like tit for tat.
R
- Rabbit and pork Talk.
- Rack and ruin To go to rack and ruin is to fall into a state of complete disrepair or destruction.
- Rack your brains To rack one's brains is to strain mentally to recall or to understand something.
- Rag-and-bone man A rag-and-bone man is a collector of discarded clothes, bones and other low-value items that can be re-sold to merchants. Cloth was recycled to make shoddy and bones were used to make glue.
- Rag, tag and bobtail A common rabble - the hoi polloi.
- Raining cats and dogs Raining very heavily.
- Raining stair-rods Raining stair rods means 'aining very heavily'.
- Raise Cain To be 'raising Cain' is to be causing trouble or creating an uproar.
- Rank and file The ordinary members of a group; as opposed to the group leadership.
- Raring to go Very eager and enthusiastic to get started on something.
- Raspberry tart Fart.
- Rat-arsed Drunk.
- Raze to the ground To destroy and sweep completely away.
- Razzle-dazzle Razzle-dazzle is glamorous excitement; a spectacular or ostentatious display. Originally the term meant 'to distract or confuse by using energetic or elaborate action which may dazzle onlookers'. The imagery there seems to be that, when 'given' the razzle-dazzle, onlookers would be dazzled and distracted.
- Read between the lines Discern a meaning which isn't made obvious or explicit.
- Read the riot act To read the riot act to someone is to reprimand them and warn them to stop behaving badly.
- Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic To rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic is to occupy yourself with some trivial activity while ignoring something much more important.
- Red herring 'Red herring' is a shortened form of the earlier expression 'neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring'. It describes something which is deliberately misleading or diverting attention from the real issue.
- Red in tooth and claw 'Red in tooth and claw' is a reference to the sometimes violent natural world, in which predatory animals unsentimentally cover their teeth and claws with the blood of their prey as they kill and devour them.
- Red sky at night This is the first part of the weather-lore rhyme: Red sky at night; shepherds delight, Red sky in the morning; shepherds warning Sometimes the phrase involves sailors rather than shepherds - both have a more than usual interest in the weather.
- Red tape Rigid or mechanical adherence to bureaucratic rules and regulations especially those involving unnecessary paperwork.
- Red-letter day In earlier times a church festival or saint's day; more recently, any special day.
- Religion is the opium of the people This is probably the best-known quotation by Karl Marx, the German economist and Communist political philosopher. The origin German text, in Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, 1843 is: Die Religion... ist das Opium des Volkes This has been translated variously as 'religion is the opiate of the masses', 'religion is the opium of the masses' and, in a version which German scholars prefer 'religion is the opium of the people'. The context the phrase appears is this: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people."
- Rest on your laurels To be satisfied with one's past success and to consider further effort unnecessary.
- Revenge is a dish best served cold The proverbial phrase 'revenge is a dish best served cold' expresses the notion that vengeance is more satisfying when exacted some time after the harm that instigated it.
- Rhyme nor reason A thing which has neither rhyme nor reason makes no sense, from either a poetic or logical standpoint.
- Richard of York gave battle in vain The phrase 'Richard of York gave battle in vain', often shortened to ROYGBIV, is intended to aid the recall of the colours of the rainbow Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
- Richard the Third Turd.
- Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross 'Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross' is a line from a nursery rhyme. The original meaning is unknown and may simply be a nonsense rhyme.
- Riding shotgun Other phrases with American origin To travel as an armed guard next to a vehicle's driver. Latterly, (chiefly in the USA) - to travel in a car's front passenger seat.
- Riff-raff A group of disreputable people of low social position; the dregs of society.
- Right as rain Perfectly well and good.
- Ring a ring o'roses, a pocketful of posies, atishoo, atishoo, all fall down Verse from a nursery rhyme.
- Ring down the curtain Other phrases about: Theatre and entertainment Bring something to an end.
- Ring the changes To employ alternative methods.
- Ring-fencing Separating something from usual judgement and guaranteeing its protection, especially the funds of a project.
- Rings a bell Awaken a memory.
- Rinky-dink Other phrases with American origin Something that is worn out, cheap or insignificant. To give someone the rinky-dink means to cheat them.
- Ripe old age A very old age. (Or a long lifespan, or to have lived a long life.)
- Rise and shine Other phrases with American origin Get out of bed and prepare for work.
- Road apples Horse dung.
- Road rage Aggressively argumentative, and sometimes violent, behaviour indulged in by drivers when annoyed by other road users' actions.
- Rob Peter to pay Paul To take from one merely to give to another; to discharge one debt by incurring another.
- Rock and roll Rock and roll is a form of popular music that came to prominence in the USA in the 1950s. It began as largely a merging of rhythm and blues, country music, and Chicago electric blues.
- Rode hard and put away wet Mistreated or not being properly cared for, or worn out and tired.
- Roly-poly In modern day language 'roly-poly' is most often used to refer to a short and stout person or to roly-poly pudding. However, there are other meanings. The OED lists no fewer than nine meanings for roly-poly: A worthless person; a rascal. Games which feature the rolling of a ball, especially roulette. A plump person, especially a child. A type of lively dance. A steamed or baked pudding made from suet pastry and jam, formed into a roll, Australian plants which form a ball and roll around in the wind, like tumble-weed. A coil of hair. An American bug that coils itself into a ball. A pea.
- Rome wasn't built in a day The proverbial saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day' suggests that a complex task or great achievement takes time and effort and should not be rushed.
- Rootin' tootin' Rootin' tootin' is generally used to mean noisy, boisterous; ‘rip-roaring’. This meaning was widely used in B-movie cowboy films featuring 'rootin', tootin', shootin' cowboys. It has previously been used to mean inquisitive and meddlesome, although that is likely to be a separate derivation stemming from rootin' referring to 'rooting around like a pig'.
- Rosie Lee Tea.
- Round Robin A tournament in which each contestant plays each of the others.
- Route one In regard to football 'route one' is a direct form of attack in which the ball is kicked high and long towards the goal, in order to stage an attack. In wider use it is a generalized term for any direct no-nonsense means to an end.
- Rubber match A sporting event in a series, such as a tournament, where both sides are tied in terms of the number of events won and lost. The phrase serves to depict the deciding game which determines the overall winner.
- Rule of thumb A rule of thumb is a means of estimation made according to a rough and ready practical rule, not based on science or exact measurement.
- Rumpy-pumpy Sexual intercourse, especially that of a casual and saucy nature.
- Run a mile Other phrases with American origin Distance oneself from physically or, more often, emotionally. The phrases is used in circumstances where a person has made an advance without an expectation of a response, but, when a response is forthcoming, is shown to be unprepared for it and immediately retreats.
- Run amok To 'run amok', which is sometimes spelled 'run amuck', is to behave in a wild or unruly manner.
- Run of the mill Other phrases with American origin The ordinary, basic article, with no decoration or augmentation.
- Run out of steam Run out of energy.
- Run rings around To easily outrun or outclass and opponent.
- Run the gauntlet To 'run the gauntlet' is to face a barrage of criticism or harsh treatment. For example, you could say: - The CEO had to run the gauntlet of media criticism after the company's stock price plummeted.
S
- 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy A misheard lyric.
- Sacred cow Something too highly regarded to be open to criticism or curtailment.
- Safe sex What is usually meant by 'safe sex' is sexual activity where precautions, e.g. the use of condoms, are taken against the transmission of diseases, notably HIV/AIDS. Earlier, in the 20th century, there have been other interpretations of what was meant by the term; for example, 'the avoidance of sex, notably for young or unmarried people' and 'birth control methods'.
- Sailing close to the wind To sail close to the wind is to take a risky course of action - on the edge of law-breaking or calamity. In its original sailing meaning, to sail close to the wind means to steer the boat as near as possible to the direction the wind is cloming from. If the wind were coming from the 12-o-clock direction close to the wind might be around 10-o-clock or two-o-clock. Going in those directions the sails will be full and the ship will travel along briskly. Just a small error in direction would point directly into the wind and the ship will abruptly lose wind and speed. Thus 'close to the wind' is exhilarating but risky.
- Salad days The days of one's youthful inexperience.
- Same here The same thing applies to me. (Referring to thoughts, feelings, actions, or circumstances.)
- San fairy Ann A deliberate jokey corruption of the French phrase 'Ça ne fait rien' - it doesn't matter. See also - other French phrases in English.
- Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything Shakespeare used this expression to describe the condition of the last of the seven ages of man. The French word 'sans', meaning 'without', having one syllable allows the speaker to quickly reel off the list of things he is without, closing the 'All the world's a stage' speech and so emphazing his lack of life's functions.
- Save one's bacon Escape from injury; avoid harm, especially to one's body.
- Saved by the bell Saved by a last minute intervention.
- Savoir faire The instinctive ability to know how to deal with any situation that arises.
- Sawing logs Snoring, breathing noisily during sleep, like the sound of logs being sawn.
- Say cheese A photographer's instruction just before taking a picture, in order to make people smile.
- Say goodnight Gracie This was coined as the sign-off at the end of George Burns' shows with his wife Gracie Allen in 1958.
- Sayings and phrases about March March. That means spring is round the corner in the UK and, as is usual here at this time of year, the weather is madly changeable. Yesterday, we had a beautifully sunny spring day; today as I look out of the window I can see nothing but freezing grey fog. These days, changes in the weather are taken care of by a click of the central heating thermostat. In earlier times the weather meant much more and, as a consequence, featured heavily in our language. Nothing expresses people's feelings better than the proverbs they coin. As it happens, I am currently transcribing John Ray's monumental glossary A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs 4th Edition, 1768 [...and it is pretty much 'compleat' - pity the poor transcriber] and I had a look to see what the English had to say about March in the 16th and 17th centuries. It seems that the turning of the year from winter to spring and the unreliability of March weather was much on their minds. Proverbs of the day include: - March in Janiveer, [January] Janiveer in March I fear. - March hack ham, comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb. [Hack ham is a version of hackande, meaning 'annoyingly'] - A bushel of March dust is worth a King's ransom. - March grass never did good. - March winds and May fun, makes clothes white and maid's dun. [Interpret this as you will. It appears to be one that Ray was referring to in this disclaimer - "some Proverbs have given offence to sober and pious persons, as favouring too much of obscenity, being apt to suggest impure fancies to corrupt minds."] - March many weathers. Other 'March' phrases that we are still familiar with are 'Beware the Ides of March' and 'the mad March hare'. Knowing that March is generally accepted to be derived from Mars, the Roman god of war, I wondered if 'March' had anything to do with 'marching'. It turns out that it doesn't, but it is connected to another of the many meanings of 'march', that is 'border country'. The English borders with both Scotland and Wales were known as the Marches, and this wasn't because they were marshy. There appears to have been some 'lost in translation' business going on when 'march' was adopted into English from French. The Old French for 'Mars' (Marz) and the Old French for 'boundary' (marche) were thought to be the same word and came into English as 'March' and 'march'. That could also have been influenced by March being the boundary between winter and spring. It's cold enough here today to be the March of the penguins. Anyway, time marches on; back to transcribing... See other 'English Proverbs'. See also 'as mad as a hatter'.
- Scapegoat One who is blamed or punished for the sins of others.
- Scarper Depart hastily.
- Scot free To go 'scot free' is to escape without incurring payment or without punishment.
- Scraping the barrel Scraping the barrel is using or accepting something of inferior quality because all the better quality items have been used up. The phrase initially meant 'use every last part of the barrel's contents so as not to waste any'. A modern day variant of 'scraping the barrel' is 'jumping the shark' - used when a long-running TV series is deemed to have put out a feeble episode, having run out of better ideas.
- Screw your courage to the sticking place Be firm and resolute.
- Sealed with a loving kiss The full version of the acronym SWALK.
- Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness Autumn (in the UK).
- Second-guess 1. To criticize and offer advice, with the benefit of hindsight. 2. To foresee the actions of others, before they have come to a decision themselves.
- Security blanket Other phrases with American origin 1. A small familiar blanket or other soft fabric item carried by a child for reassurance. 2. A form of harness for a baby's crib. 3. All-encompassing military and political security measures.
- See a man about a dog When someone says "I'm just going to see a man about a dog" he (usually he) is disguising his actual intentions. What's is really being said is "I'm going out but I'm not saying why". As is the case with many well-known euphemisms the phrase might be accompanied by a wink, making it obvious that, whatever he is actually about to do, you can be sure there won't be any dogs involved.
- See a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck A proverb extolling the virtue of thrift.
- See red Become angry; lose self-control.
- Seek and you shall find The proverbial saying 'Seek and you shall find' means, in the Biblical sense, 'come to God and your prayers will be answered. In a wider literal sense it just means 'effort will be rewarded'.
- Seen better days To have been more wealthy or in better condition in former times.
- Selling like hot cakes Any item that sells very quickly and in large quantities could be said to be 'selling like hot cakes'. While the phrase is still used in relation to food items, it can be used to describe any product or service that is in high demand. For example, one might say that a new video game is 'selling like hot cakes'.
- Send packing Send away ignominiously.
- Senior citizen An elderly person; one who is past the age of retirement.
- Sent to Coventry To be 'Sent to Coventry' is to be deliberately ignored or ostracised. This behaviour often takes the form of pretending that the shunned person, although conspicuously present, can't be seen or heard.
- Separate the sheep from the goats Separate the good from the bad.
- Set one's cap at Said of a woman who determines to gain the affections of a man.
- Set one's teeth on edge Literally, to cause an unpleasant tingling of the teeth. More generally, the expression is used to describe any feeling of unpleasant distaste.
- Sex and shopping A type of novel where the plot revolves around the affluent consumer lifestyle and sexual encounters of the characters.
- Sexton Blake Fake.
- Shaggy dog story A lengthy, improbable and ultimately pointless story, often told in an attempt at humour.
- Shake a leg Shake a leg is used in several ways, but always to indicate movement - to move, to dance or to hurry up.
- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day', one of the most celebrated lines in all poetry, is from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, 1609. In the poem Shakespeare compared a lover to that welcome and lovely thing, a summer's day and, in each respect, found the lover to be more beautiful and everlasting: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
- Shanks' mare 'Shanks' mare' or Shanks' pony' is a jocular way of referring to a person's legs, when used as a means of transport. For example, "I've missed the last bus, I guess I'll have to use Shanks' pony".
- Share and share alike To 'share and share alike' is to give equal shares to all.
- Shilly-shally Other Reduplicated phrases To 'shilly-shally' is to be indecisive and vacillating. It seems to make sense that 'shilly-shally' is just a variant of 'dilly-dally'. The two expressions are almost identical and mean much the same thing. However, that isn't the case. Although 'shilly-shally' is the later phrase in origin it was coined independently from dilly-dally'. 'Shilly-shally' is a colloquial way of saying 'Shall I? Shall I not?' and, as such, has more in common with the earlier expression willy-nilly (Will I? Will I not?). Almost all of these 'this way or that way' expressions follow 'this' and 'that' in their construction. That is, the second word replaces the 'i' of the first word with an 'a'. Examples are, dilly-dally, wishy-washy, chit-chat, zig-zag.
- Ship-shape and Bristol fashion If something is 'ship-shape and Bristol fashion' it is in first-class order.
- Shit for brains Extremely stupid.
- Shiver my timbers An oath, expressing annoyance or surprise.
- Shoddy Describing inferior goods or workmanship, or disrespectful behaviour.
- Shoot through To abscond, or depart quickly.
- Short shrift To give 'short shrift' is to give little and unsympathetic attention to.
- Show a leg Rouse yourself from sleep and get out of bed.
- Show your mettle Demonstrate your true character.
- Shrinking violet A shy or modest person.
- Shuffle off this mortal coil Die.
- Shut your cake-hole Be quiet.
- Siamese twins Inextricably linked - inseparable. Previously the term was used as a synonym for the more accurate term 'conjoined twins'.
- Sick puppy Someone who behaves oddly, as a sick puppy might; for example, a lovesick person who pines after their beloved.
- Silence is golden A proverbial saying, often used in circumstances where it is thought that saying nothing is preferable to speaking.
- Silver bullet A direct and effortless solution to a problem.
- Sitting pretty Comfortably placed or well situated.
- Six ways to Sunday The American expression 'Six ways to Sunday' is used with more than one meaning. Most people use it to mean 'in every possible way, with every alternative examined', as in "we checked him out six ways to Sunday before offering him that big loan". Others mean 'in every possible direction', as in "my necklace broke and the beads went six ways to Sunday". There is a majority view favouring the 'all possible alternatives examined' meaning.
- Skid row Other phrases with American origin A squalid district inhabited by the impoverished and destitute.
- Skin and blister Sister.
- Sleep like a top To sleep like a top is to sleep very soundly.
- Sleep on a clothesline To sleep on a clothesline is to sleep very soundly.
- Sleep tight To 'sleep tight' is to sleep well and undisturbed.
- Sleep with Euphemism for 'have sexual intercourse with'.
- Slept like a baby Slept deeply, peacefully, and completely undisturbed.
- Sloane Ranger Sloane Rangers, or latterly just Sloanes or Sloanies are upper class and fashion-conscious but conventional young people, living in the more expensive parts of West London.
- Slowly but surely Slowly, but most definitely.
- Slush fund Money put aside to be used to bribe or influence, especially in a political context.
- Smart casual Smart but informal clothing. Conforming to a dress code but not uncomfortably so.
- Smoke and mirrors Other phrases with American origin Trickery or deception, often in a political context.
- Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep From Shakespeare's Henry VI. Part II, 1592. SUFFOLK: Well hath your highness seen into this duke; And, had I first been put to speak my mind, I think I should have told your grace's tale. The duchess, by his subornation, Upon my life, began her devilish practises: Or, if he were not privy to those faults, Yet, by reputing of his high descent, As next the king he was successive heir, And such high vaunts of his nobility, Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess By wicked means to frame our sovereign's fall. Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep; And in his simple show he harbours treason. The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb. No, no, my sovereign; Gloucester is a man Unsounded yet and full of deep deceit.
- So sue me A defiant challenge for an adversary to escalate a dispute.
- Soap-dodger A scruffy or dirty person; one who washes rarely.
- Sold down the river Other phrases with American origin Betrayed or cheated.
- Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em Literal meaning
- Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men, have mediocrity thrust upon them Literal meaning.
- Someone is walking over my grave A response to a sudden unexplained shudder or shivering.
- Something for the weekend sir? A coy query asking if a customer wanted to buy a condom.
- Something is rotten in the state of Denmark
- Something nasty in the woodshed 'Something nasty in the woodshed' is a traumatic but unspecified incident in someone's experience, or something shocking or distasteful that has been kept secret.
- Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' is the collection of items that is considered lucky for a bride to take to her wedding.
- Son of a bitch A general term of abuse for a man.
- Son of a gun A 'son of a gun' is a rogue or scamp - "you are naughty, you old son of a gun". The phrase is also used, although this is uncommon outside the USA, as a euphemism for 'son of a bitch'. Some say that the origin is 'son of a military man' but, whether this is the correct origin or not, the phrase is no longer used to convey that meaning.
- Sound bite Other phrases with American origin A short and easily remembered line, intended by the speaker to be suitable for media repetition.
- Sour grapes Acting meanly after a disappointment.
- Space: the final frontier The first line of the opening voice-over in Star Trek
- Spare the rod and spoil the child 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' is the notion that children will become weak and vulnerable if not chastised, physically or otherwise, for any wrongdoing.
- Speak of the Devil A reference to someone who appears unexpectedly while being talked about.
- Speak softly and carry a big stick 'Speak softly and carry a big stick' is a proverbial saying advising the tactic of caution and non-aggression, backed up by the ability to carry out violent action if required.
- Special relationship The relationship between the United Kingdom and the USA.
- Spelling-bee A 'Spelling Bee' is a spelling contest.
- Spend a penny To use a public lavatory.
- Spend more time with my family A euphemistic way of describing being made redundant.
- Spick and span 'Spick and span' is entirely clean - fresh or unused.
- Spill the beans To divulge a secret, especially to do so inadvertently or maliciously.
- Spin doctor A 'spin doctor' is a political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalists.
- Spitting feathers Various meanings; see below.
- Spitting image The exact likeness.
- Spoonerisms A Spoonerism is a word or phrase that is formed by transposing the initial sounds of two or more other words. For example, 'A block of flats' would be 'Spoonerised' to become 'a flock of bats'. If you aren't familiar with spoonerisms this 'doctored' nursery rhyme should give you a better idea: Little Muss Miffet Tat on a siffet, Eating her words and kay. A-spong came a lider, And bat sown beside her, And whitened Muss Miffet affray.
- Spring forward, fall back 'Spring forward, fall back' is a mnemonic relating to Daylight Saving Time, indicating that clocks are moved forward an hour in spring and back an hour in autumn.
- Spruce-up To make smart and trim.
- Squeaky bum time The tense, final stages of a competition.
- Stand and deliver A demand for money, often associated with English highwaymen.
- Stand-up guy Other phrases with American origin A loyal and reliable friend.
- Standing on the shoulders of giants Using the understanding gained by major thinkers who have gone before in order to make intellectual progress.
- Star-crossed lovers Star-crossed means unlucky, that is, not favoured by the stars. The first pair to be so described were Romeo and Juliet.
- Stark, raving mad Completely mad; delirious.
- Start from scratch Begin (again) from the beginning, embark on something without any preparation or advantage.
- Starter For Ten
- Steal a march Gain an advantage over an opponent.
- Steal one's thunder Someone 'steals your thunder' when they use your ideas or inventions to their own advantage.
- Step up to the plate 'Step up to the plate' is an expression used in baseball, meaning 'enter the batter's box to take a turn to bat'.
- Stick in the mud A narrow-minded or unprogressive person; one who lacks initiative
- Stick to your guns This phrase is an instruction to continue with your plan even if others say you’re wrong.
- Sticks and stones may break my bones 'Sticks and stones may break my bones' is a response to an insult, implying that "You might be hurt able to hurt me by physical force but not by insults".
- Stiffen the sinews To stiffen the sinews is to, by one's own efforts, become resolute and purposeful. The sinews are the fibrous cords that connect bone to muscle - we stiffen them when we prepare for action.
- Stinking rich Extremely, offensively rich
- Stone the crows An exclamation of incredulity or annoyance.
- Stony-hearted Cruel and unfeeling.
- Stool pigeon The literal meaning of a stool pigeon is a decoy bird. In the more common figurative meaning a stool pigeon is a police informer, or criminal's look-out.
- Straight from the horse's mouth From the highest authority.
- Strain at the leash To strain at the leash is to be enthusiastic to free oneself from the restrictions that bar one's progress.
- Strait and narrow A conventional and law-abiding course.
- Strait-laced Excessively rigid in matters of conduct; narrow or over-precise in one's behaviour or moral judgement.
- Stranger danger A slogan, intended to alert children to the risks posed by people they do not know.
- Strike while the iron is hot To strike while the iron is hot is to act decisively and take an opportunity when it arises.
- Stuck fast To be stuck fast is to be firmly fixed in place and unable to move.
- Stuck in my craw Something has disturbed my peace of mind. (Or another way of saying ‘I’m annoyed/angry.’)
- Stuff and nonsense Rubbish, nonsense. Also used, although less often in recent years, as an exclamation of incredulity.
- Stump up Pay for a purchase.
- Such is life An acceptance of the unpredictable fortunes of existence, often spoken with an air of weary resignation.
- Such stuff as dreams are made on This expression is more usually spoken as 'the stuff of dreams'. In the magician Prospero's speech in The Tempest he alludes to the gods and spirits in the play, which are imagined and apt to blow away in a puff of smoke. Shakespeare is also playing with the idea that the play itself evokes and requires a suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience, which also soon melts away when the play is ended and the characters return to being real life actors..
- Super-duper Other American origin Reduplicated phrases 'Super-duper' means especially large, powerful or impressive; exceptional, marvellous. It is used for emphasis - 'super' plus a bit more, and is often followed by an exclamation mark.
- Surf and turf A type of cuisine that combines both meat and seafood (especially lobster and steak), or restaurants that serve such cuisine. Often written "surf 'n' turf". See also, beef and reef.
- Surfing Other phrases with American origin Surfing (a.k.a. surfboarding) is, in its literal meaning, the riding of a wave while standing or lying on a surfboard. The word surfing is now applied figuratively as a prefix or postfix to construct phrases relating to other activities, for example 'surfing the net'.
- Survival of the fittest The idea that species adapt and change by natural selection with the best suited mutations becoming dominant.
- Suspension of disbelief Other phrases about: Theatre and entertainment To 'suspend disbelief' is to temporarily accept as believable of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible. This is usually to allow an audience to appreciate works of literature or drama that are exploring unusual ideas.
- Swan song A swan song is a final composition or performance, given before dying or retirement.
- Sweet Fanny Adams Nothing.
- Swing the lead To shirk one's labour; to malinger.
T
- Take a back seat To 'take a back seat' is take a subordinate or reclusive position.
- Take a beat Take a pause. (Or stop a while, usually to calm down.)
- Take a beating To be beaten badly in some form of competition.
- Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves Literal meaning.
- Take down a peg or two To 'take (or pull, or bring) down a peg (or two)' is to lower someone's high opinion of themselves.
- Take potluck Take one's chance as to what meal one is served when accepting another's hospitality. Also, in the USA, potluck is the name of a communal meal, in which participants each bring a dish to be shared.
- Take the bit between your teeth Take control of a situation.
- Take the cake Carry off the honours. Sometimes used to express incredulity; for example, "That's three goals he's missed in one game. If that don't take the cake...".
- Take the gilt off the gingerbread Remove an item's most attractive qualities.
- Take the Mickey Tease or make fun of.
- Take umbrage To be displeased or offended by the actions of others.
- Take with a grain of salt To take a statement with 'a grain of salt' (or 'a pinch of salt') means to accept it while maintaining a degree of scepticism about its truth.
- Taken aback To be taken aback is to be surprised or startled by a sudden turn of events.
- Taken for a ride To be 'taken for a ride' is to be deliberately misled or cheated. Alternatively, and primarily in the USA, it means to be abducted in a vehicle and murdered.
- Takes some beating Would require considerable effort to match or exceed.
- Talk a blue streak To talk very quickly and rapidly, without stopping for breath. (Usually for a long time.)
- Talk through one's hat Talk nonsense; especially on a subject that one professes to be knowledgeable about but in fact is ignorant of.
- Talk to the hand ('cause the face ain't listening) (With outstretched vertical palm) Shut up - I've no interest in hearing what you've got to say.
- Tall story An untrue and unbelievable story.
- Tawdry Showy, but of poor quality.
- Tea leaf - A Thief.
- Technicolor yawn Vomiting.
- Teensy-weensy Other phrases with American originReduplicated phrases 'Teensy-weensy' means very small. It is often used as a form of baby talk to young children when emphasizing the smallness of something. For example, "why don't you eat just a teensy-weensy bit more spinach?".
- Tell it to the marines A scornful response to a tall and unbelieved story.
- Tell me about it 'Tell me about it' is a lighthearted, rueful response used when someone wants to say "I'm well aware of that; you don't have to tell me.".
- Tempest in a teapot A tempest in a teapot is a small or insignificant event that is over-reacted to, as if it were of considerably more consequence.
- That ship has sailed That opportunity has already passed; it is too late to do anything about it now or possibly ever again.
- That's all folks! Other phrases about: American origin Theatre and entertainment The catchphrase on the banner shown at the end of Looney Tunes cartoons.
- That's all she wrote An articulation of a sudden and unforeseen end to one's hopes or plans.
- That's one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind These were Neil Armstrong's words on first setting foot on the moon in 1969. The line is a strong contender as the most famous ever to have been uttered.
- The exception that proves the rule Normally with these meanings and origins the meaning is well-understood or self-evident and the interesting aspect is how, where and when the phrase originated. This one is a little different - it's the meaning that is generally not understood. This is one of the most widely misunderstood expressions in all of English. To the untutored ear it might appear to mean 'if there's a rule and I can find a counter-example to it, then the rule must be true'. This is clearly nonsense; for example, if our rule were 'all birds can fly', the existence of a flightless bird like a penguin hardly proves that rule to be correct. In fact it proves just the opposite. So, and here the maxim 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' comes into play, it has been suggested that it's an alternative meaning of the word prove that is the source of the confusion. Prove can mean several things, including 'to establish as true' and 'to put to trial or to test'. The second option is what is used in 'proving ground', 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', etc. It could be argued then that the phrase means 'it is the exception that tests whether the rule is true or not'. In our example the existence of a bird that can't fly would put the 'all birds can fly' rule to the test (and find it wanting). That's all very well and most people would be happy to stop there. Unfortunately, when we go back to the legal origin of the phrase we see that it doesn't mean that at all. It's the word exception rather than prove that is causing the confusion here. By exception we usually mean 'something unusual, not following a rule'. What it means here though is 'the act of leaving out or ignoring'. If we have a statement like 'entry is free of charge on Sundays', we can reasonably assume that, as a general rule, entry is charged for. So, from that statement, here's our rule: You usually have to pay to get in. The exception on Sunday is demonstrating that the rule exists. It isn't testing whether the incorrect rule 'you have to pay' is true or not, and it certainly isn't proving that incorrect rule to be true.
- The (most) unkindest cut of all Brutus was Caesar's close and trusted friend. To be stabbed by him was even more hurtful than by those who he was less intimate.
- The ants are my friends, they're blowing in the wind Misheard lyric.
- The apple never falls far from the tree The proverbial saying 'the apple never falls far from the tree', or 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' expresses the idea that a person inevitably shares traits with or resembles his or her parents or family.
- The apple of my eye The apple of one's eye originally referred to the central aperture of the eye. Figuratively it is something, or more usually someone, cherished above others.
- The back of beyond A lonely forsaken place.
- The balance of power The distribution of power between nations in such a way that no single state has dominance over the others.
- The balance of trade The difference between the value of the imports and exports that a nation makes.
- The bane of one's life The agent of ruin or woe.
- The be all and end all The whole thing. The last word. Something that so entirely suitable as to eliminate the need for a search for an alternative.
- The bee's knees If something is said to be the bee's knees it is excellent - the highest quality. The phrase, like 'the cat's pajamas', has given its name to a cocktail, made from gin and honey with lemon and orange juice.
- The belle of the ball The most attractive woman at a social gathering.
- The best laid schemes of mice and men The most carefully prepared plans may go wrong.
- The Big Apple Other phrases with American origin Nickname for New York, USA.
- The big cheese Other phrases with American origin The most important person.
- The Big Easy Other phrases with American origin Nickname for New Orleans, USA, referring to the easy-going, laid back attitude to life that jazz musicians and local residents indulge in there.
- The birds and the bees 'The birds and the bees' is a phrase that refers to coy explanations about sex and reproduction that are given to children.
- The bitter end To the limit of one's efforts - to the last extremity.
- The blind leading the blind Uninformed and incompetent people leading others who are similarly incapable.
- The bowels of the earth The dark interior of the earth.
- The bread of life A name used by Christians to denote Jesus Christ. There is a simple literal interpretation of this phrase, which is - the food that we require for physical sustenance. It is rarely used in that way though and is most often use figuratively to mean the spiritual food needed for a full life. It is specifically used in that way by the Christian church to refer to Jesus Christ.
- The buck stops here The slogan 'The buck stops here' is a promise that responsibility will not be passed on to anyone else.
- The call of nature Euphemism for the desire to urinate or defecate.
- The call of the wild The appeal of nature in the raw.
- The calm before the storm A quiet, tranquil, or peaceful period of time just before a time of great activity, argument or difficulty. (This can be literal or metaphorical.)
- The camera cannot lie Other phrases about: American origin Theatre and entertainment Literal meaning.
- The cat's pajamas If something is said to be the cat's pajamas it is excellent - the highest quality.
- The chickens come home to roost Bad deeds or words return to discomfort their perpetrator.
- The child is father to the man The proverb 'The child is father to the man' expresses the idea that the character that we form as children stays with us into our adult life.
- The collywobbles A state of intestinal disorder, usually accompanied by a rumbling stomach; for example, 'butterflies in the stomach'.
- The course of true love never did run smooth Literal meaning.
- The crack of doom The sound that heralds the day of the Last Judgment, when God will decree the fates of all men according to the good and evil of their earthly lives.
- The crapper The lavatory.
- The customer is always right 'The customer is always right' is a trading slogan that states a company's keenness to be seen to put the customer first. The implied suggestion is that the company is so customer focussed that they will say the customer is right, even if they aren't.
- The dark side The evil and malevolent aspect of human personality or society, often referred to in a lighthearted or comic context.
- The darkest hour The darkest hour is the time when bad events are at their worst and most dispiriting.
- The darkest hour is just before the dawn There is hope, even in the worst of circumstances.
- The darling buds of May An appreciation of what is fresh and new.
- The Devil has all the best tunes 'The Devil has all the best tunes' is the view that music, especially popular music, is predominantly secular rather than religious.
- The Devil incarnate The Devil in human form.
- The devil is in the details The details of a plan, while seeming insignificant, may contain hidden problems that threaten its overall feasibility.
- The devil makes work for idle hands to do 'The devil makes work for idle hands' is one of the numerous variants of phrase that express the idea that trouble or evil arises from not keeping busy.
- The Devil take the hindmost A proverbial phrase indicating that those who lag behind will receive no aid.
- The devil to pay 'The devil to pay' means serious trouble because of a particular circumstance or obligation.
- The devil's advocate Figuratively, one who takes a contrary position for the sake of testing an argument, or just to be perverse.
- The die has been cast 'The die has been cast' means that an irrevocable choice has been made.
- The early bird catches the worm Success comes to those who prepare well and put in effort.
- The elephant in the room An important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable.
- The emperor's new clothes The label given to any fictional item that viewers have been induced into believing as real.
- The empire on which the sun never sets Other phrases about: Travel This expression was coined as a reference to the Spanish Empire but is now most frequently used to refer to the British Empire in the time of Queen Victoria.
- The ends of the earth The furthest reaches of the land.
- The face that launched a thousand ships A reference to the mythological figure Helen of Troy (or some would say, to Aphrodite). Her abduction by Paris was said to be the reason for a fleet of a thousand ships to be launched into battle, initiating the Trojan Wars.
- The fat is in the fire 'The fat is in the fire' is used to express the opinion that a plan has gone irretrievably wrong, because of some calamity.
- The female of the species is more deadly than the male A well-known line from Rudyard Kipling's poem The Female of the Species, 1911: When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside. But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male. See also: the List of Proverbs.
- The floozie in the jacuzzi The floozie (or floosie or floozy) in the jacuzzi is the nickname of the bronze statue, properly called Anna Livia, previously in O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland. It personifies the River Liffey, which passes nearby. Birmingham, UK, has a similar statue and has adopted the same nickname for it.
- The Full Monty Complete, the whole thing.
- The game is afoot The phrase 'the game is afoot' means 'the process is underway'; for example, 'The teams are on the pitch - the whistle blows - the game is afoot.'
- The game is up The original meaning was 'the game is over - all is lost'. More recently it has come to be used to mean ' we have seen through your tricks - your deceit is exposed'.
- The girl with colitis goes by Mishear lyric.
- The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence' expresses the idea that other people's situations always seem better than one's own. The proverb carries an implied warning that, in reality, the grass is equally green on one's own side and that you should be satisfied with what you have.
- The great unwashed The common, lower classes; the hoi polloi.
- The hair of the dog The hair of the dog is a small measure of drink, intended to cure a hangover.
- The hairy eyeball A glance made with partially lowered eyelashes. This usually indicates suspicion or hostility but may signal other emotions too.
- The Ides of March The Ides of March is just the 15th of March. The Ides was the name of the marker days used by the Romans to divide each month. Months of the Roman calendar were arranged around three named marker days - the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides - and these were reference points from which the other (unnamed) days were calculated: Kalends (1st day of the month). Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months). Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months).
- The jury is still out Other phrases with American origin Judgement has not yet been finalised on a particular subject; especially due to information being incomplete.
- The land of Nod The Land of Nod is a mythical land where we travel to to sleep.
- The last straw (that broke the camel's back) The final additional small burden that makes the entirety of one's difficulties unbearable.
- The law is an ass The law is an ass is a derisive expression said when the the rigid application of the letter of the law is seen to be contrary to common sense.
- The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing One's varied interests are kept separate.
- The life of Riley 'The life of Riley' is an easy and pleasant life.
- The living daylights To beat the living daylights out of someone is to beat them severely, to the point where they lose consciousness.
- The long arm of the law 'The long arm of the law' is a rather clichéd way of referring to the police and to their assumed far-reaching crime-fighting and punitive powers. The arm of the law, that is, the physical force that is used to put the law into practice, is the police. The long arm of the law is intended to imply that, however far a criminal may run, the police's power will reach and that they will inevitably reach out and 'feel his collar'. In recent times in the UK, where crimes like burglary are commonly not investigated let alone solved, the expression is often used ironically.
- The love of money is the root of all evil Literal meaning.
- The love that dare not speak its name A reference to homosexual love, although Oscar Wilde denied this in his defense of the charge of gross indecency.
- The Mad Maid's Song, by Robert Herrick
- The many way to pronounce 'ough'
- The meek shall inherit the earth Those who are humble, gentle, and unassuming will one day inherit the earth.
- The more the merrier The more people who are present, the better an occasion or situation (especially a party) will be.
- The moving finger writes The phrase 'The moving finger writes...' expresses the notion that whatever one does in one's life is one's own responsibility and cannot be changed.
- The mutt's nuts Excellent - the highest quality.
- The order of the boot Given the sack, that is, asked to leave your job (see 'get the sack').
- The path of least resistance The easiest way to do something (as opposed to the best way to do it).
- The pen is mightier than the sword Literal meaning.
- The penny drops A belated realization of something after a period of confusion or ignorance.
- The pits Other phrases with American origin The worst or most despicable example of something.
- The pot calling the kettle black 'The pot calling the kettle black' is a response often given when someone criticises another for a fault they also have themselves.
- The powers that be The established government or authority.
- The proof of the pudding To fully judge how effective something is you need to use it for its intended purpose.
- The quality of mercy is not strained From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, 1596. PORTIA: The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
- The Queen's English The language of the United Kingdom.
- The quick and the dead All souls - alive or dead.
- The Real McCoy The real thing - not a substitute.
- The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated Other Quotations Mark Twain quotation after hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal. Mistaken publications of obituaries aren't as rare as you might expect. A recent example is of Dave Swarbrick, the British folk/rock violinist, who was killed off mistakenly by the Daily Telegraph in April 1999 when they reported that his visit to hospital in Coventry had resulted in his death. He did at least get the opportunity to read a rather favourable account of his life, not something we all get to do, and to deliver the gag "It's not the first time I have died in Coventry".
- The rich get richer and the poor get poorer This proverbial saying is different to most other, more metaphorical, maxims. It conveys the inevitability of the literal truth that, the richer you are the more relatively rich you become and, for the poor, vice-versa.
- The road less travelled Other phrases with American origin The road less travelled is the unconventional or uninvestigated option. More metaphorically, it is also used to refer to 'the life you never had' - what might have been had you made different choices. The notion is near to what is nowadays called 'alternative'.
- The road to hell is paved with good intentions The intention to engage in good acts often fails. It points up the principle that there is no merit in good intentions unless they are acted on.
- The root of the matter The essential or inner part of something.
- The rub of the green Luck; especially in sports and pastimes played on a green surface.
- The salt of the earth People who are described as 'the salt of the earth' are those who are considered to be of great worth and reliability.
- The seven-year itch The 'seven-year itch' is the supposed inclination to become unfaithful after seven years of marriage.
- The shoemaker always wears the worst shoes Artisans work for the wealthy but cannot afford their own produce.
- The short end of the stick To get the short end of the stick is to come off worst in a bargain or contest.
- The shot heard 'round the world A line from Emerson's Concord Hymn. Later used to denote shots of various forms that had international significance.
- The sky's the limit There is no apparent limit.
- The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune From Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602.
- The smallest room in the house A euphemistic reference to a lavatory.
- The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak A statement of the difficulty in living up to the high moral standards that one has set oneself.
- The spirit of the staircase 'The spirit of the staircase' is a witty response which, frustratingly, comes to one's mind just after the opportunity to utter it is passed.
- The status quo The existing and normal condition.
- The struggle is real Something is a frustrating struggle or challenge to deal with.
- The tail wagging the dog An item of minor importance dominating a situation.
- The third degree Close interrogation.
- The toast of the town A person who is widely admired.
- The triumph of hope over experience A literal view of the subject of remarriage.
- The usual suspects Other phrases with American origin "The usual suspects" are the people habitually suspected or arrested following a crime. The phrase is usually used in regard to scapegoats rather than actual perpetrators of the crime in question.
- The wages of sin is death Sinners will be cast into everlasting torment.
- The whole 'whole nine yards' enchilada
- The whole kit and caboodle Other phrases with American origin A collection of things.
- The whole nine yards The expression 'the whole nine yards' means 'all of it - the full measure'.
- The whole shebang Other phrases with American origin All of it; the whole thing.
- The writing is on the wall The expression 'the writing is on the wall' is used whenever an inevitable result or imminent danger has become apparent.
- The wrong side of the blanket The expression 'born on the wrong side of the blanket' is a euphemism for being born out of wedlock.
- The year dot A very long time ago; too long ago to be dated.
- The Yellow Peril The supposed danger of Oriental hordes overwhelming the West.
- There are plenty more fish in the sea A single person has lots of options for future partners.
- There are three kinds of lies... This saying has a literal meaning. It suggests that statisyics can be used to mislead even more than the worst form of untruth.
- There but for the grace of God, go I I too, like someone seen to have suffered misfortune, might have suffered a similar fate, but for God's mercy.
- There is more than one way to skin a cat The proverbial saying 'There is more than one way to skin a cat' means there is more than one way of achieving an aim.
- There is no alternative This is the mantra chanted by 'dries' during the prime ministerial reign of Margaret Thatcher, by which they demonstrated their belief that free-market capitalism was the only possible economic theory. It was said so often amongst them that it was shortened to TINA. The hard-right Thatcherites called themselves 'dries' to demonstrate their opposition to the 'wets', that is, the One-Nation Tories whom Thatcher despised. Wet was the public school nickname for any boy who showed any sign of caring for his fellow beings.
- There is no such thing as bad publicity 'There is no such thing as bad publicity' is the notion that all mentions in the media aid a person's cause, even if they put them in a bad light.
- There is one born every minute Other phrases with American origin There are many fools and dupes in the world.
- There's a bathroom on the right Misheard lyric.
- There's an R in the month The weather is cold.
- There's method in my madness From Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602. The actual line from the play is 'Though this be madness yet there is method in it'.
- There's no fool like an old fool People of mature years, who are expected to know better, often do outrageously foolish things, especially regarding romantic liaisons.
- There's no place like home Home is the best of all places.
- There's no such thing as a free lunch The economic theory, and also the lay opinion, that whatever goods and services are provided, they must be paid for by someone - that is, you don't get something for nothing. The phrase is also known by the acronym of 'there ain't no such thing as a free lunch' - tanstaafl.
- There's one law for the rich and another law for the poor This proverbial saying express the opinion that the poor are treated harshly by the law whereas the rich, with their access to clever lawyers and bribes, usually escape punishment.
- Thereby hangs a tale There's an interesting story associated with this matter.
- Thick and fast If something comes 'thick and fast' it comes in rapid succession with little time to respond between events. It may refer to physical objects, like raindrops, or non-physical, like commands.
- Things that go bump in the night Frightening but imagined supernatural events.
- Think outside the box "Think outside the box" is an idiom that encourages creative thinking beyond traditional boundaries or conventional constraints. It suggests looking for solutions or ideas that are not obvious or typical.
- Think outside the box Other phrases with American origin Think creatively, unimpeded by orthodox or conventional constraints.
- Third time lucky The belief that the third time something is attempted is more likely to succeed than the previous two attempts. It is also used as a good luck charm - spoken just before trying something for the third time.
- This is the short and the long of it The short and long of it is the substance; the plain truth. It is used to refer to something which is unambiguous and may be described quite simply - the long version and the short version being the same. For example, "You can debate the 1971 Ali/Frazier fight all you like but the long and short of it is 'Frazier won'". For some reason, later users of the expression have preferred to use the reverse form - 'the long and short of it'.
- This is very midsummer madness It would be a reasonable assumption to make to think this expression comes from A Midsummer Nights Dream. In fact it is from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, 1602. It concerns the comic scene in which Malvalio is taken with the mistaken belief that his beloved wants to see him to wear crossed yellow stockings: Malvolio. 'Remember who commended thy yellow stockings,' Olivia. Thy yellow stockings! Malvolio. 'And wished to see thee cross-gartered.' Olivia. Cross-gartered! Malvolio. 'Go to thou art made, if thou desirest to be so;' - Olivia. Am I made? Malvolio. 'If not, let me see thee a servant still.' Olivia. Why, this is very midsummer madness.
- This precious stone set in the silver sea, this sceptered isle In John of Gaunt's dying speech in Shakespeare's Richard II he appears to rhapsodise over the many qualities of England - 'this other Eden'. 'this earth of majesty', 'this precious stone' and so on. While this may be taken at face value, more is being conveyed than simple praise for the country's virtues. Gaunt is alluding to the destruction of the old ways brought about by the Plantagenet wars. His description of 'this sceptered isle' is not only imagery of England as a jewel set in the sea. England's kings wear sceptres and the land and its people are 'sceptered', that is, subject to the throne. Also, the reference to the country as 'this seat of Mars [the god of war] and 'this fortress' suggest that the throne is a military prize, rules by the strongest, not necessarily the best.
- Thou shalt not kill Literal meaning
- Though this be madness, yet there is method in it Methos in one's madness suggests reason behind apparent folly or disorder.
- Three score and ten 'Three score and ten' is the nominal span of a human life. In the days that this expression was coined that span was considered to be seventy years.
- Three sheets to the wind Very drunk.
- Three strikes and you are out This slogan was used by US President Clinton to publicize his plans for mandatory life sentences for those convicted of a third violent offence.
- Through thick and thin Through all forms of obstacle that are put in one's way.
- Throw a spanner in the works To throw a spanner in the works is to, deliberately or otherwise, cause disruption; to interfere with the smooth running of something.
- Throw good money after bad You 'throw good money after bad' when, following the loss of some money, you to incur a further loss in trying to make good.
- Throw in the towel To throw in the towel (or, to throw the towel in) is to give up, to avoid further punishment when facing certain defeat.
- Throw your hat into the ring Make or take up a challenge, or demonstrate one's willingness to join an enterprise.
- Thumbs up A sign of acceptance, approval or encouragement, made with closed fingers and the thumb extended upwards.
- Thunder thighs Large, thick, fat or muscular thighs. (Or someone who has large thighs.)
- Tic-tac-toe Other phrases with American originReduplicated phrases 'Tic-tac-toe' is the US name for a game in which two players try to complete a row of either three noughts or three crosses, on a grid of nine squares.
- Ticked off Chastised; 'told off', or in a separate US meaning, 'annoyed'. There's also the literal meaning of 'ticked off' - when ticks are placed against a list of items as they are noted.
- Tickety-boo Delighted.
- Tickle the ivories Play the piano.
- Tickled pink Delighted.
- Tide over Make a small allowance (of money, food etc.) last until stocks are replenished.
- Tie the knot Get married.
- Till the cows come home For a long but indefinite time.
- Tilting at windmills To 'tilt at windmills' is to attack imaginary enemies.
- Time and tide wait for no man No one is so powerful that they can stop the march of time.
- Time will tell We will find out over the course of time.
- Time's wingèd chariot This metaphorical expression refers to the relentless an inevitable march of time. Winged is often pronounced with two syllables, as 'wing ed'.
- Tired and emotional Euphemism for drunk.
- Tit for tat A blow or some other retaliation in return for an injury from another.
- Tits-up Inoperative; broken. The term is also used to mean fallen over (on one's back)
- To a T If something is said to fit 'to a T' it fits exactly; properly; precisely.
- To bandy words To argue persistently.
- To be, or not to be, that is the question Shakespeare's line 'to be or not to be' is usually interpreted as meaning 'is it better to live or to die'?
- To beat the band Other phrases with American origin To beat the band is to do something to surpass all others and draw attention to yourself, either by being louder, more vigorous or more expert than others. The allusion is to a musical band. Someone would have to be very loud and noticeable to 'beat the band' by drowning it out or drawing attention away from it.
- To boldly go where no man has gone before This introductory text was spoken at the beginning of many Star Trek television episodes and films, from 1966 onward: Space: The final frontier These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise Its 5 year mission To explore strange new worlds To seek out new life and new civilizations To boldly go where no man has gone before This line reinvigorated the last-lasting debate over split infinitives. These are infinitives that have an adverb between 'to' and the verb. Those grammarians who still cared about this in the 1960s complained that 'to boldly go' should have been 'to go boldly'. The debate had been simmering on and off for the best part of a century. As early as 1897, Academy magazine suggested that an insistence that split infinitives were incorrect was somewhat pedantic: "Are our critics aware that Byron is the father of their split infinitive? 'To slowly trace', says the noble poet, 'the forest's shady scene'." Most authorities now accept Star Trek into the grammatical fold and no longer care, or at least rarely publicly complain, about 'to boldly go'. By 1966, people cared more about implied sexism than doubtful grammar and the show's producers received criticism for the 'no man' part of the speech. Despite some recourse to the tradition defence of the use of 'man' to mean 'human', that is, 'man embraces woman', by the time Star Trek: The Next Generation was aired, in 1987, the shows producers had opted for the more politically correct last line - "Where no one has gone before". In that series the hirsutely challenged Patrick Stewart took on the role of the Star Trek's commander and wags could hardly miss the 'to baldly go' quip at his expense.
- To boot Moreover; in addition to.
- To cast the first stone Be the first to attack a sinner. The implication in Jesus' teaching was that the members of the congregation were only in a position to condemn a sinner if they were without sin themselves - in other words, 'judge not lest you be judged'.
- To catch a crab To catch a crab is a term used in the rowing community. It means, either... 1. Catching an oar in the water when moving the oar blade backwards. 2. Missing the water on one's forward pull stroke. 3. Leaving the oar under the water too long on one's forward pull stroke. The consequence of all three would be, at a minimum, that the rower would get out of sequence with other rowers. More severe crab catching might result in the rower falling backwards in the boat or, in extreme circumstances, falling out of it.
- To each their own Everyone has a right to their own opinion. We can accept that people have different tastes and preferences.
- To err is human; to forgive, divine A proverb expressing the idea that forgiveness is a worthy response to human failings.
- To kowtow to To accept the authority of another; to act in a subservient manner.
- To mince words To mince words is to moderate one's language, to keep within the bounds of what is prudent or polite. Minced words are usually referred to in the negative 'do not mince your words'.
- To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub This line is from the celebrated 'To be, or not to be' speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602: HAMLET: To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
- To the manner born Destined to be suited to something, by virtue of birth or custom and practise.
- To the nth degree To the utmost degree; without limit.
- To thine own self be true Be true to yourself, be authentic. Do what’s right for you.
- To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive Hope and anticipation are often better than reality.
- Toe the line To conform to an established standard or political programme.
- Toe-curling Something that is 'toe-curlingly embarrassing' is discomforting enough as to make one squirm and curl one's toes in response.
- Toffee-nosed To be 'toffee-nosed' is to be snobbish; supercilious; stuck-up.
- Tom, Dick and Harry Tom, Dick and Harry is an English phrase used to refer to average, random men. It is often used to denote ordinary, working class men of no especial note. It is a near equivalent of 'John Doe' or 'Jane Doe' in US speech, although Tom, Dick and Harry isn't used to refer to a signature. The phrase was commonplace in the UK until around the middle of the 20th century but less so now than previously.
- Tommy Atkins 'Tommy Atkins' is a generic name for a private in the British Army.
- Tomorrow is another day 'Tomorrow is another day' is famous for being the last line of Margaret Mitchells's American Civil War novel Gone With The Wind, 1936: Scarlett O'Hara: "Tara. Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day" The expression joins "Fiddle-dee-dee!" and "Great balls of fire!" as lines spoken by Scarlett O'Hara that have become commonplace in the language. The line wasn't coined by Mitchell however. It is found in print in several sources, for example, Harper's Weekly, May 1857: ...never losing sight of that, to him, great and glorious fact, that "tomorrow is another day." See also: the List of Proverbs.
- Tongue in cheek In an ironic manner, not meant to be taken seriously.
- Too big for your breeches Conceited; having a too high opinion of oneself.
- Too many cooks spoil the broth This proverbial saying conveys the notion that the more people who are involved in a process the worse the result. It uses the imagery of many cooks adding ingredients to a soup until it becomes a mess.
- Too much of a good thing Excess may do you harm.
- Toodle-oo A colloquial version of 'goodbye', now rather archaic.
- Toodle-pip A colloquial version of 'goodbye', now rather archaic.
- Tooth and nail A fight, undertaken with all one's efforts and with the intensity of a wild animal.
- Top dog One who is dominant or victorious.
- Top drawer Of the best quality; of the highest social standing.
- Top notch Other phrases with American origin Excellent.
- Topsy-turvy 'Topsy-turvy' means in disorder; with the top where the bottom should be.
- Touch and go A risky, precarious or delicate case or state of things - such that the slightest change could prove disastrous.
- Touchy-feely Other phrases with American origin Human interactive that emphasizes physical closeness and emotional openness. The phrase is often used disparagingly in contexts where hard and businesslike behaviour is the norm.
- Tout de suite At once.
- Tower of strength Someone who can be relied on to provide support and comfort.
- Trick or treat? Other phrases with American origin 'Trick or treat' is the ultimatum given to householders by children who call on houses to solicit gifts at Hallowe'en.
- Trip the light fantastic To dance, especially in an imaginative or 'fantastic' manner.
- Trouble and strife 'Trouble and strife' is an English slang term for wife.
- True blue Loyal and unwavering in one's opinions or support for a cause.
- Truth is stranger than fiction Literal meaning.
- Truth will out The truth will become known eventually.
- Tuckered out Other phrases with American origin Exhausted.
- Turkeys voting for Christmas 'Turkeys voting for Christmas' is used to describe people acting in a way that is harmful to their own interests.
- Turn a blind eye To turn a blind eye is to knowingly ignore something which you know to be real and significant.
- Turn of phrase A distinctive spoken or written expression.
- Turn the tables Reverse the positions of adversaries. The phrases is often used when the weaker position subsequently becomes dominant.
- Turn up trumps To turn out well or successfully.
- Twelve good men and true A jury.
- Twenty four seven All of the time - twenty four hours/day and seven days/week.
- Twinkle toes A nimble person who is quick on their feet.
- Two cents' worth An individual's opinion.
- Two heads are better than one Two people may be able to solve a problem that an individual cannot.
U
- Ugly as sin Extremely ugly or repulsive and repugnant. Physically or morally hideous.
- Under the auspices of Under the control or protection of someone or some group.
- Under the greenwood tree Shakespeare used the term 'under the greenwood tree' as a generalised evocation of the pastures and forest of Tudor England, which was largely rural at that time. Thomas Hardy used the expression as the title of a 1872 novel of rural life. Hardy followed the Bard's lead in that the novel is set in an anonymous pastoral forested scene, somewhere in the fictionalised county of Wessex. Hardy did in fact locate most of his stories in the real county of Dorset and adapted real place names to suit his stories. Avid readers enjoy matching the fictional places with real towns and villages - the primary location being, in the stories, Casterbridge and, in reality, Dorchester. That being said, most Victorian readers would have taken 'under the greenwood tree' to be, as Hardy intended, an unidentified English Acadia.
- Under the thumb Completely under someone's control.
- Under wraps A thing is 'under wraps' if it is concealed from public view, with only a few insiders being aware of it.
- Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown The expression 'uneasy lies the head that wears a crown' means that a person with great power, such as a king, is constantly apprehensive. The phrase is sometimes used as 'uneasy lies the head that wears the crown'. That's not the original Shakesperian line but it has the same meaning.
- Union Jack The Union Jack is the popular name of the national flag of the United Kingdom.
- Until we meet again Goodbye until we see each other again. (The separation between us will be temporary.)
- Up a blind alley Following a course of action that leads to no good outcome.
- Up a gum tree With most phrases it is the origin rather than the meaning that is in doubt. 'Up a gum tree' has several meanings. The most commonly used is 'in great difficulties'. Other meanings are 'in a state of contentment' or 'with great speed'.
- Up and about Active and mobile. (Particularly after a period of rest or inactivity.)
- Up and at ‘em Get up and get going, or get busy with a task or strategy.
- Up in arms Roused; incensed.
- Up shit creek without a paddle Other phrases with American origin In an awkward situation or unpleasant predicament.
- Up the ante To raise the stakes, either in betting or in any form of conflict or competition.
- Up the apples and pears Apples and pears is Cockney rhyming slang for stairs.
- Up the duff 'Up the duff' is a euphemism for pregnant. It is used most commonly, although not exclusively, to describe unplanned pregnancy.
- Up the pole 'Up the pole' has various meanings, including: - The literal, climbing on a pole - Crazy - In difficulty - Pregnant
- Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire Go up the hill to Bedfordshire was phrase uttered to children in the UK when it was time to go upstairs to prepare for bed. The expression is now sounds rather antiquated to many, but it is still used.
- Up to snuff Initially, the phrase meant 'sharp and in the know'; more recently, 'up to the required standard'.
- Upper crust 'Upper crust' means aristocratic; socially superior.
- Ups-a-daisy 'Ups-a-daisy' is an exclamation made when encouraging a child to get up after a fall or when lifting a child into the air.
- Upset the apple-cart To 'upset the apple-cart' is to cause upset - to create a difficulty.
- Upside down Literally, ass-ackwards means turned so that the back becomes the front. In common usage it is used to refer to things that are chaotic and muddled. It is usually used humorously and is a Spooneristic variant of 'ass-backwards'.
- Upside-down Upside-down means turned so that the upper surface becomes the lower.
- Urban myth Other phrases with American origin An urban myth is a story, generally untrue but sometimes one that is merely exaggerated or sensationalised, that gains the status of folklore by continual retelling. Such stories, which may be old and cliché-ridden, are often given a degree of plausibility by being updated in a contemporary setting, or by the teller's claims of personal involvement.
V
- Vanish into thin air Disappear without trace.
- Veg out To 'veg out' is to relax in a slothful and mindless manner.
- Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things Quotation - widely attributed to US ex Vice-President Dan Quayle.
- Vice versa The reverse of the previous statement, with the main items transposed. Vice versa originates as Latin, with the literal translation being 'the other way round' or 'the position being reversed', but is now fully absorbed into English. The phrase is usually used to imply the complement of a statement without expressing as much in words; for example: "Fish can't live where we are most comfortable, and vice versa". It is often misspelled as visa versa.
- Vicious circle A self-perpetuating process which returns to its starting point with no improvement from when it was begun.
- Vide infra See below (Or see further on in the text).
- Vis-à-vis In a position facing another. Literally 'face to face'. Often now used in the sense of 'in relation to'.
- Visit the ladies' room Euphemism for going to the lavatory.
- Vorsprung Durch Technik The German phrase 'vorsprung durch technik' is usually translated into English as 'progress through technology'. A literal translation would be 'advancement through technology'. There's no single English word which is an exact equivalent of 'vorsprung' - 'to leap ahead' comes close.
- Vote with their feet To vote with your feet means to show approval or disapproval of some venture by attending or not. For example, people voted with their feet when that new liquorice themed restaurant opened - no one turned up.
W
- Walk free Other phrases with American origin To be released from a criminal charge without punishment, or not receive the expected or deserved punishment.
- Walk the plank 'Walking the plank' was a form of naval execution in which victims were forced to walk, often blindfold and with hands tied, off a plank of wood and into the sea.
- Walk the walk Other phrases with American origin To 'walk the walk' is to back up one's talk with action.
- Walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie is a portable radio transmitter and receiver used for two-way communication. The name was also used in the mid-20th century as the name for a type of animated doll and also as a type of dance.
- Warts and all 'Warts and all' means the whole thing; not concealing the less attractive parts.
- Watching brief Instructions given to someone to observe a situation.
- Wax poetic To wax poetic is to speak in an increasingly enthusiastic and poetic manner.
- We are a grandmother 'We have become a grandmother' was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's statement to the press in 1989, on the birth of her first grandchild, Mark Thatcher's son Michael.
- We are not amused 'We are not amused' is a quotation, attributed to Queen Victoria.
- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers' is one of the well-known lines from the rousing St. Crispin's Day Speech given by the king in Shakespeare's Henry V. Henry was exhorting his men to greater valour and toward a famous victory against the French at the Battle of Agincourt. The fact that they were outnumbered by the French should not concern them and would only serve to strengten their brotherhood and reputation in the future.
- We know where you live A threat of violence.
- Wear the trousers Be in charge.
- Wear your heart on your sleeve To wear your heart on your sleeve is to display your emotions openly.
- Weasel words Ambiguous or quibbling speech.
- Wee-wee A nursery euphemism for urine or urination.
- Welcome aboard Welcome on board, or welcome to the team or project.
- Well endowed A euphemism referring to large sex organs, in men or women.
- Well hung Euphemism; describing a man with a large penis.
- Well-heeled Other phrases with American origin Wealthy - well provided for.
- Wet behind the ears Naive.
- Wet blanket A person or thing that says or does something to impinge on other people's enjoyment.
- What a palaver The phrase 'what a palaver' means 'what a lot of fuss'. It is frequently used in contexts where the fuss is long-winded and out of proportion to whatever trifle caused it, leading to an amended meaning, listed in the OED as 'a fuss, a commotion; a tedious or unnecessarily drawn-out process, a rigmarole'.
- What a piece of work is man The literal reading of this speech by Hamlet is that 'man is a supreme creature'. However, as with many of Shakespeare's more famous speeches, this is open to interpretation and scholars disagree. Even the punctuation is disputed. The placement of the exclamation marks (or the commas as in some versions) changes the meaning entrely. It could be that either the angels or the gods that are being said to be admirable, for instance. Early manuscripts vary and so Shakespeare's intention isn't entirely clear. What is clear is that Hamlet is saying that, although man appears to be noble and admirable, he himself can find no joy in his life or in interaction with humanity. He wonders what man is - in reality just 'dust', that is, 'stuff'. What elevates man above mere inanimate objects?
- What are you like? This rhetorical question is asked of someone who has done something stupid or outrageous. The point being that it is quite obvious what the person in question is like.
- What football is all about
- What God has joined together let no man put asunder 'What God has joined together let no man put asunder' is the part of the Christian marriage ceremony that states God's authority over man.
- What part of no don't you understand? I am plainly saying no, and I mean just that.
- What the dickens 'What the dickens...' is an intensified form of simple 'what...?' questions. For example, the question 'what is that weird flashing light in the sky?' might be intensified to 'what the dickens is that weird flashing light in the sky?'. The 'dickens' intensifier is used in various questions - 'where the dickens?', 'why the dickens?', how the dickens?', but 'what the dickens' is by far the most commonly used. All of the above forms are rather antiquated and you are more likely to come across them in period dramas than in everyday speech.
- What you see is what you get (wysiwyg) A computer screen display which appears on screen as it will be seen when printed on paper.
- What's not to like? Other phrases with American origin A rhetorical question, suggesting that what is being spoken of is without fault.
- What's up Doc? 'Eh, What's up Doc?' joins 'That's All Folks!' as the best-known lines from Tex Avery's Looney Tunes cartoon series. It was delivered by Bugs Bunny, while nonchalantly chewing on a carrot, in most of the cartoons in which the character appeared, beginning with A Wild Hare, 1940. This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon, although Bugs wasn't named until the second cartoon - Elmer's Pet Rabbit ('Happy Rabbit', a prototype Bugs Bunny with a somewhat different personality had appeared earlier). Avery explained how the line became established in the numerous cartoon confrontations between Bugs Bunny and the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd: "We decided he [Bugs] was going to be a smart-aleck rabbit, but casual about it. That opening line of 'Eh, what's up, Doc?' floored them. They expected the rabbit to scream, or anything but make a casual remark. For here's a guy pointing a gun in his face! It got such a laugh that we said, 'Boy, we'll do that every chance we get.'" Chuck Jones went on to explain that the demeanour of Bugs when delivering the line was adapted from Clark Gable's performance in It Happened One Night. In that film, Gable's character leans against a fence eating carrots and gives instructions with his mouth full to Claudette Colbert's character. The scene was well-known to audiences at the time who would have been well aware that Bugs was spoofing Clark Gable. The line has outlived Bugs Bunny and is now commonly used worldwide as a jokey alternative to the straightforward query 'what's up?', that is, 'what's going on?'.
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do When one is a visitor, it is polite and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of the society you are joining.
- When it comes to the crunch When a decisive point at which one's future course is determined.
- When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions From Shakespeare's Hamlet, 1602: Claudius: O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude, When sorrows come, they come not single spies But in battalions. First, her father slain: Next, your son gone; and he most violent author Of his own just remove: the people muddied, Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers, For good Polonius' death; and we have done but greenly, In hugger-mugger to inter him: poor Ophelia Divided from herself and her fair judgment, Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts: Last, and as much containing as all these, Her brother is in secret come from France; Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds, And wants not buzzers to infect his ear With pestilent speeches of his father's death; Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd, Will nothing stick our person to arraign In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this, Like to a murdering-piece, in many places Gives me superfluous death.
- When the going gets tough, the tough get going 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going' means that, when times are difficult, those with resolve don't give up but are stimulated into action.
- When the shit hits the fan 'When the shit hits the fan' alludes to the messy and hectic consequences brought about by a previously secret situation becoming public.
- Where the bee sucks, there suck I From Shakespeare's The Tempest, 1610: ARIEL [sings] Where the bee sucks, there suck I: In a cowslip's bell I lie; There I couch when owls do cry. On the bat's back I do fly After summer merrily. Merrily, merrily shall I live now Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. The practice of printers up until around 1780 of elongating 's' characters to look rather like lowercase f's have led to versions of Shakespeare's work that we now snigger at; like this Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope, printed in 1762, in which Shakespeare's lines were included:
- Where there's muck there's brass Where there are dirty jobs to be done there is money to be made.
- Where there’s smoke, there’s fire If there are signs that something is true, then it must be at least partly true.
- Whet your appetite To have your interest in something, especially food, stimulated.
- Which is which 'Which is which?' - often expressed as a question, asking for help in distinguishing two similar things or people.
- While you live, tell truth and shame the Devil! Tell the truth, even when tempted to lie.
- Whipper snapper A whipper-snapper is a diminutive or insignificant person, especially a sprightly or impertinent youngster.
- Whipping boy A scapegoat. One who is singled out for blame or punishment.
- Whistle and flute Suit.
- Whistle down the wind Send away or abandon.
- Whistle-blower A person who tries to raise the alarm about a problem and publicizes it inside and/or outside of his/her organization.
- White as a ghost Turned extremely pale, usually in reaction to something (for example due to fear, illness or shock).
- White bread Pertaining to the US white middle classes.
- Who wooed in haste, and means to wed at leisure From Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, 1596: KATHARINA: No shame but mine: I must, forsooth, be forced To give my hand opposed against my heart Unto a mad-brain rudesby full of spleen; Who woo'd in haste and means to wed at leisure. See also: Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
- Why does bread always fall butter side down? The 'buttered side down' view of life is one that is pessimistic and fatalistic. Of course, in reality, bread doesn't always fall buttered side down.
- Wild and woolly Other phrases with American origin Lawless and uncultured.
- Wild goose chase A wild goose chase is a hopeless quest - one that is pointless and bound to end in failure.
- Willy-nilly This term has two, slightly differing, but related meanings: 1. Whether you want it or not. 2. In an unplanned, haphazard fashion. We tend to use the latter of these meanings today; the former was the accepted meaning when the term was first coined.
- Win hands down Win easily, with little effort.
- Win one for the Gipper Ronald Reagan quotation.
- Wind beneath my wings My support system.
- Wing it To do something in an impromptu manner, improvising, with little preparation.
- Winter draws on Said when an intimation of the approaching winter is first felt.
- Wish you were here The archetypal message postcard message.
- With bells on Eager; ready to participate.
- With child Euphemism for pregnant.
- Without let or hindrance 'Without let or hindrance' means freely, without any impediment.
- Without so much as a by your leave Without even asking for permission. By your leave might be said by an inferior person (by status or military rank) when making a request to a superior to do something. Im modern day language it is equivalent to (I will do the thing) 'with your permission'.
- Woe betide you A prediction, usually expressed as a warning following someone's bad behaviour, that you may suffer future misfortune.
- Woe is me I am distressed; sad; grieved.
- Women and children first The seafaring command that women and children be the first to board the lifeboats when a ship abandoned.
- Word Association Football Word association is a psychological technique invented by Jung in which patients are asked for an immediate response to any word fired at them. A word game based on this in which the first player starts with a word and subsequent players have to follow with a related word and so on has been staple fare for families on long car journeys and the like for many years. Association football is the proper name of soccer (and the origin of the word soccer incidentally). In a use of what computer programmers call recursion, the Monty Python team used the technique to provide an example of itself by merging the two terms. The subsequent inspired comic piece that was performed by John Cleese on the Python album Matching Tie and Handkerchief: Tonight's the night I shall be talking about of flu the subject of word association football. This is a technique out a living much used in the practice makes perfect of psychoanalysister and brother and one that has occupied piper the majority rule of my attention squad by the right number one two three four the last five years to the memory. It is quite remarkable baker charlie how much the miller's son this so-called while you were out word association immigrants' problems influences the manner from heaven in which we sleekit cowering timrous beasties all-American speak, the famous explorer. And the really well that is surprising partner in crime is that a lot and his wife of the lions' feeding time we may be c d e effectively quite unaware of the fact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library that we are even doing it is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what's going onward christian Barnard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous mental homes for loonies like me. So on the button, my contention causing all the headaches, is that unless we take into account of Monte Cristo in our thinking George the Fifth this phenomenon the other hand we shall not be able satisfact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library againily to understand to attention when I'm talking to you and stop laughing, about human nature, man's psychological make-up some story the wife'll believe and hence the very meaning of life itselfish bastard, I'll kick him in the balls Pond Road.
- Word for word A precise following of another's words, that is, verbatim, either in spoken repetition of those words or in a close study of a text.
- Words are but wind Words are not tangible, they are not firm and they cannot be relied upon.
- Words ending in gry
- Words invented by William Shakespeare
- Worse for wear Shabby or worn through use; drunk.
- Worth one's salt To be effective and efficient; deserving of one's pay.
- Wotcher A colloquial greeting.
- Wouldn't touch with a barge-pole Said of something or someone so unappealing that one wouldn't want to go anywhere near.
- Wreak havoc It isn't surprising that some people get this phrase wrong and assume that it is 'wreck havoc'. After all 'havoc' and 'wreckage' usually belong together. However, the correct spelling is 'wreak havoc', which means, 'inflict or create damage'.
Y
- Yada yada Other phrases with American origin Reduplicated phrases A disparaging response, indicating that something previously said was predictable, repetitive or tedious.
- Yas queen An enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ (Or an expression of strong support, admiration, and excitement.)
- Yellow-belly 'Yellow belly' is an insult, indicating that the person it is aimed at is a coward.
- You are what you eat The proverbial saying 'You are what you eat' is the notion that to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food.
- You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink People, like horses, will only do what they have a mind to do.
- You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think Humorous quotation, attributed to Dorothy Parker.
- You can say that again Expressing complete (or strong) agreement with what has just been said.
- You can't get blood out of a stone You cannot extract what isn't there to begin with.
- You can't have your cake and eat it You can't have two desirable but contradictory options - you have to choose.
- You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear This proverb expresses the view that you can't turn something which is inherently low-grade or ugly into something valuable or attractive.
- You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs You can't accomplish something worthwhile without creating adverse effects.
- You can't see the wood for the trees By focussing on detail you lose perspective and miss what is important.
- You can't teach an old dog new tricks 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' suggests that old dogs (and old people) learn less well than the young.
- You look as if you've been dragged through a hedge backwards Said to someone who is unkempt and whose hair needs brushing.
- You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent An early TV advertising slogan for Pepsodent toothpaste, in use in the USA and UK from the late 1940s to 1960s. The product purported to contain a product called I.M.P. which, it was claimed, 'cleans the stains and film away' and Irium, which 'fights tooth decay'. It would be difficult to get away with such claims in today's more regulated media environment. The mysterious I.M.P. wasn't specified and Irium was pure invention - there's no such chemical. The product's manufacturers ran a television advertising campaign for 'New Formula Pepsodent', featuring the 'You'll wonder where the yellow went' jingle from 1948 onwards. By the 1950s the company appeared to lose faith with the slogan and they ran a newspaper competition in 1956 in the USA for readers to write a new jingle. They must have been serious as the prizes included a 10-day all-expenses air trip for two, two Jaguar XK-140 sports cars and two mink coats. They needed have bothered. The line is still well-remembered by many and is probably the only reason that the product's name is still known. Pepsodent is still on the market (2006).
- You're dead wrong You are utterly, completely wrong and extremely incorrect.
- You're spot on You are exactly right or perfectly accurate.
- You've never had it so good The 1950s political slogan 'You've never had it so good' was used to attempt to persuade the electorate that their fortunes were best served by the party in power.
- Young at heart Has traits associated with youth, such as energy, enthusiasm, vitality, joy and a positive outlook.
- Young buck A young person. (Such as an adolescent or teenager, usually to describe a male.)
- Young turk A young person, full of new ideas and impatient for change.
- Your days are numbered You are likely to die soon.
- Your name is mud You are unpopular.
Z
- Zero tolerance A form of policing that allows no crime or anti-social behaviour to be overlooked.
- Zig-zag A series of short straight lines, set at angles to one another and connected to form a continuous line. Often forming a regular pattern, but not necessarily so. Also, the action of moving along such a course.