Phrase of the hour
Talk through your hat
To speak confidently about a subject one does not actually understand, producing nonsense or wild exaggeration. Informal and dismissive; the speaker…
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Plain-English meanings.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Folklore labelled honestly.
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Raison d'être
The core purpose or justification for someone's or something's existence; the reason a person, group, or institution is felt to matter. It is a…
Meaning & originA red-letter day
A memorably happy, important or significant day; a personal or public highlight worth marking. The phrase began as a literal label for saints' days…
Meaning & originBoondocks
Informal, chiefly American term for a remote, thinly settled, rough or rural area, almost always used with 'the'. It began as soldiers' slang for…
Meaning & originApple of my eye
The person, or occasionally the thing, that someone cherishes above all others. Most often said affectionately of a child or romantic partner, and one…
Meaning & originA knee-jerk reaction
An automatic, unthinking response, especially a predictable opinion or objection formed out of habit or emotion rather than examination of the facts…
Meaning & originA bull in a china shop
A person who is recklessly clumsy, tactless, or heavy-handed in a situation that calls for delicacy, care, or diplomacy, and who therefore risks…
Meaning & originA heart-to-heart
An honest, intimate conversation in which both people lay their feelings open rather than hiding them. Usually singular - have a heart-to-heart - it…
Meaning & originWhen the dust settles
After chaos or fuss calms down, clear again.
Meaning & origin
Language 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.