Phrase of the hour
Off the cuff
Spoken, decided, or done without advance preparation; impromptu rather than rehearsed.
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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
Like a dog with two tails
Over-the-top happy or thrilled, all wag.
Meaning & originGive no quarter
Show no mercy, leniency or concession; historically, refuse to spare a defeated enemy. The historical literal sense can imply killing captives and is…
Meaning & originCast pearls before swine
Offer something valuable to people who cannot or will not appreciate it. Often sounds judgmental because it likens unappreciative people to swine. Use…
Meaning & originBy the skin of your teeth
Only just succeeding or escaping, with the smallest possible margin between success and failure. The possessive changes with the subject. It normally…
Meaning & originChapter and verse
Precise supporting authority or full, exact details about a claim or event. Can mean exact source references or, more loosely, a complete detailed…
Meaning & originA month of Sundays
An extremely long or seemingly endless period, usually in negative statements about likelihood. Informal hyperbole. In a negative construction it can…
Meaning & originNot within cooee
A long way away, or not remotely close to a target, standard or result. Regional and informal. The source call is part of Aboriginal Australian…
Meaning & originCaught on the back foot
Taken by surprise or off balance, reeling.
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.