Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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).
"When Hell freezes over" [2] and "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 in 1956. "On Tibb's Eve" refers to the saint's day of a saint who never existed. [5] "When two Sundays ...
Words with specific British English meanings that have different meanings in American and/or additional meanings common to both languages (e.g. pants, cot) are to be found at List of words having different meanings in American and British English. When such words are herein used or referenced, they are marked with the flag [DM] (different meaning).
Below is an alphabetical list of widely used and repeated proverbial phrases. If known, their origins are noted. A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition.
Word British English meanings Meanings common to British and American English American English meanings oblique (n.) slash symbol a muscle neither parallel nor perpendicular to the long axis of a body or limb onesie (n.) Onesie (jumpsuit): One-piece garment worn by older children and adults as loungewear.
This is a list of words and phrases related to death in alphabetical order. While some of them are slang, others euphemize the unpleasantness of the subject, or are used in formal contexts. Some of the phrases may carry the meaning of 'kill', or simply contain words related to death. Most of them are idioms
The "punch-drunk" meaning OED cites to 1936; the "dizzy" meaning appears two years later. The "carefree…etc" connotation appears in 1937; [76] it appears the evolution of the idiomatic meaning was influenced by the element "happy" over that of "slap". sparring partner Boxing: A person with whom one routinely argues or enjoys arguing.
An idiom dictionary may be a traditional book or expressed in another medium such as a database within software for machine translation.Examples of the genre include Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, which explains traditional allusions and proverbs, and Fowler's Modern English Usage, which was conceived as an idiom dictionary following the completion of the Concise Oxford English ...