Phrase of the hour
Davy Jones's locker
The bottom of the sea, especially imagined as the grave of drowned sailors and wrecked ships. Nautical and often macabre. It can refer to the seabed…
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Discover what peculiar British and American expressions mean, where they came from, and how people actually use them.
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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
Hue and cry
A loud public outcry, alarm or protest raised collectively against a person or event. Often implies noisy or excessive protest. The historical phrase…
Meaning & originRun a tight ship
To manage strictly or well, all in line.
Meaning & originHell in a handbasket
A rapid or unchecked decline into ruin, disorder, or moral decay. Current informal idiom Regional use: United States and Britain.
Meaning & originCaught with your pants down
Caught unexpectedly while unprepared, exposed or in an embarrassing or compromising situation. The expression is informal.
Meaning & originThere's the rub
That is the central difficulty, obstacle or inconvenient point. Somewhat literary but concise. Rub means obstacle here, not friction or massage…
Meaning & originAll mouth and no trousers
Full of boasts or promises but unwilling or unable to act on them. Informal and mildly insulting. It may carry a suggestion of empty masculine…
Meaning & originFight the good fight
Persevere courageously in a worthy moral, religious or difficult cause. May be earnest, religious or lightly ironic. Good implies that the speaker…
Meaning & originIn a nutshell
Summed up short and sweet, the core.
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.