Phrase of the hour
Walk on eggshells
To act with extreme caution or sensitivity around someone, fearing their reaction, as if treading on fragile shells that might crack.
Uncover the storyA curious dictionary of everyday English
Every odd phrase has
a story to tell.
Discover what peculiar British and American expressions mean, where they came from, and how people actually use them.
1,901
curious expressions
1,585
source-backed entries
3,378
research references
Plain-English meanings.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Start with a letter
Browse the cabinet
Pulled from the drawers
A few curious finds
War chest
A stock of money set aside in advance for a coming struggle, most often an election campaign, a legal battle, or a corporate takeover fight, though…
Meaning & originNeck and neck
Exactly level in a race or contest, with neither side able to pull ahead; used for elections, polls, markets, teams and any close-run competition…
Meaning & originThe big cheese
The most important or powerful person in an organization or scene; a boss, leader or grandee. Usually with 'the' ('the big cheese of the sales…
Meaning & originChew the scenery
Of an actor: to overact wildly, performing in an exaggerated, melodramatic style that swamps the play. By extension it describes anyone behaving in a…
Meaning & originAn odyssey
A long, eventful journey - literal or spiritual - marked by wanderings, delays, reversals, and hard-won arrival. The word carries the shape of its…
Meaning & originIn the driver's seat
In charge or control.
Meaning & originBlow your own trumpet
Talk proudly about your own abilities or achievements, often in a way that sounds boastful or self-promoting. This is the usual British form; North…
Meaning & originCaught red-handed
To be discovered in the act of doing something wrong or illegal, with undeniable evidence of guilt, leaving no room for denial.
Meaning & originLanguage has legends. Evidence matters.
Colourful story or documented history?
Phrase origins are full of irresistible myths. We separate what historical sources can show from what remains disputed, and link the references behind researched entries.