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(1860) [87] The phrase throw in the towel in a non-boxing sense first dates to 1916 in a book by C. J. Dennis. [87] throw one's hat into the ring Boxing: To signify one's candidacy for (political) office or election; to enter a contest. In early days of boxing, one signified a challenge by throwing one's hat into the boxing ring.
Pages in category "Lists of English phrases" The following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. 0–9.
Please keep this category purged of everything that is not an article about a word or phrase. For a list of words relating to English phrases, see the English phrases category of words in Wiktionary , the free dictionary.
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).
To act as a substitute or stand-in for someone when in a "pinch", especially in an emergency. In baseball, sometimes a substitute batter would be brought in, especially at a crucial point in the game. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the first non-baseball use in 1918, from sports columnist and short-story writer Ring Lardner: [91]
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:
These are not merely catchy sayings. Even though some sources may identify a phrase as a catchphrase, this list is for those that meet the definition given in the lead section of the catchphrase article and are notable for their widespread use within the culture. This list is distinct from the list of political catchphrases.
For example, the 2003 and 2004 lists were determined by online hits to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Online Thesaurus and to Merriam-WebsterCollegiate.com. [5] [6] In 2006 and 2007, Merriam-Webster changed this practice, and the list was determined by an online poll among words that were suggested by visitors to the site. [4]