Phrase of the hour
War chest
A stock of money set aside in advance for a coming struggle, most often an election campaign, a legal battle, or a corporate takeover fight, though…
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Plain-English meanings.
Folklore labelled honestly.
Folklore labelled honestly.
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Heart of gold
Describes a person whose nature is kind, generous and fundamentally good, with gold standing for purity and value and the heart for inner character…
Meaning & originIn one's heart of hearts
Deep in one's private, innermost feelings or conscience, beyond what one admits outwardly: a conviction held at the very core of the emotional self…
Meaning & originNot worth a hill of beans
Practically worthless, amounting to little.
Meaning & originNot for Joe
Certainly not for me; an emphatic refusal of an offer, proposal or course of action. Dated and jocular. Joe or Joseph stands for the speaker, not…
Meaning & originQuixotic
Foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals, especially marked by rash, lofty romantic schemes destined to fail; extravagantly chivalrous or…
Meaning & originSitting duck
A person or thing that is an easy, helpless target for attack, criticism, or exploitation, having little or no means of defense or escape. It is…
Meaning & originWhoop it up
Celebrate or enjoy oneself loudly and energetically, or stir up noisy enthusiasm for a person, event, or cause. Informal. The phrase can describe…
Meaning & originA sound bite
A brief extract, originally an audio or television clip of someone speaking, short enough to drop into a news bulletin; by extension any pithy…
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.