Phrase of the hour
Across the board
Applying to everyone or everything in a group, without exceptions or selective treatment - an across-the-board pay rise, an across-the-board tariff…
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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
From pillar to post
From one place, person, or difficulty to another, usually without making progress. Usually implies frustration, disorder, or repeated referral rather…
Meaning & originIn the pink
In top health or shape, glowing with vigor.
Meaning & originA level playing field
A fair basis for competition - rules and conditions that give no participant an artificial advantage. The phrase is the standard demand of anyone who…
Meaning & originAn eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Retribution should match the injury it answers, so the punishment for a wrong is an equivalent loss. It is invoked either to demand strictly…
Meaning & originSnowball effect
A process in which something small grows steadily larger and more consequential under its own momentum, each increase making the next easier. Usually…
Meaning & originKick up a fuss
To create a noisy or emotional disturbance, usually in protest or complaint, drawing attention to a grievance with exaggerated reaction. It suggests…
Meaning & originThe long and the short of it
The essential point of a matter once the details are stripped away: the upshot, the gist, the net result. Typically introduces a blunt or deflating…
Meaning & originOn the wagon
Abstaining from alcohol, especially after having drunk regularly or after deciding to stop. Informal and specifically about alcohol, not vice in…
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.