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OED, however, cites a literal usage in 1851, but does not cite a figurative usage until 1997, and that in the phrase "lost by a nose." [93] work out, work-out, workout Boxing: To exercise or practice, especially in terms of physical training; also, the act of working out. Work out was a term for boxing for practice as opposed to a set contest.
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
The expression originates from Lewis Carroll's 1871 book Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. [1] This is a pun on a mnemonic [citation needed] for the usage of the Latin word iam (formerly often written and pronounced jam), which means "at this time", but only in the future or past tense, not in the present (which is instead nunc "now").
The cast of “Friends” is well known for being besties, but that developed over time. During an appearance on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow ...
"When Hell freezes over" [2] and "on a cold day in Hell" [3] are based on the understanding that Hell is eternally an extremely hot place. The "Twelfth of Never" will never come to pass. [4] A song of the same name was written by Johnny Mathis. "On Tibb's Eve" refers to the saint's day of a saint who never existed. [5] "When two Sundays come ...
Talking past each other" is an English phrase describing the situation where two or more people talk about different subjects, while believing that they are talking about the same thing. [ 1 ] David Horton writes that when characters in fiction talk past each other, the effect is to expose "an unbridgeable gulf between their respective ...
An anonymous John Doe sat down with CNN on Tuesday to share, for the first time, what he described as the traumatic toll the alleged abuse he endured by Sean “Diddy” Combs has taken on his life.