Phrase of the hour
A flash in the pan
A conspicuous early success or display that quickly fails to produce lasting results. Usually dismissive. The pan is part of a firearm's ignition…
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Plain-English meanings.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Start with a letter
Browse the cabinet
Pulled from the drawers
A few curious finds
Take the wind out of your sails
To deflate someone's confidence or momentum, draining their drive.
Meaning & originBucket list
A list of experiences, places, or achievements a person hopes to complete before dying, from the idiom 'to kick the bucket'; by extension, any…
Meaning & originYou can't win them all
Used to accept a loss or console someone after a disappointment: nobody can succeed on every occasion.
Meaning & originOff your rocker
Behaving or thinking in a way the speaker considers wildly irrational or absurd. Informal and insulting when directed at a person. It should not be…
Meaning & originRags to riches
A rise from deep poverty to great wealth, whether as a real biography or as a stock narrative arc. Usually admiring of effort and luck, but often…
Meaning & originStan
An extremely devoted fan of a celebrity, franchise, or fictional character; also a verb meaning to admire or support with that intensity. Originally…
Meaning & originIn the lap of luxury
Living in grand comfort or wealth, pampered.
Meaning & originRest on one's laurels
To be satisfied with what you have already achieved and stop putting in further effort. It is nearly always used as a warning or criticism, most often…
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.