A–Z index of English idioms & phrase origins

Every idiom, folk-etymology correction, origin essay and guide on idiominsider.com, in one place — each dated, sourced and given an honest verdict on the popular story.

Idioms & phrases (A–Z) (55)

• a wolf in sheep’s clothing 1382
• at loggerheads 1680
• back to square one 1952
• baker’s dozen 1614
• big wig 1772
• bite the bullet 1890
• break a leg 1948
• break the ice 1579
• bring home the bacon 1906
• bury the hatchet 1680
• by and large 1669
• cat got your tongue 1911
• caught red-handed 1819
• chew the fat 1885
• cloud nine
• cold shoulder 1816
• crocodile tears 1563
• cut to the chase 1929
• dead ringer 1878
• hands down 1832
• hunky-dory 1866
• kick the bucket 1785
• let the cat out of the bag 1760
• mad as a hatter 1829
• mind your Ps and Qs 1756
• once in a blue moon 1833
• paint the town red 1883
• piece of cake 1936
• posh 1914
• pull out all the stops 1865
• raining cats and dogs 1738
• red herring 1807
• riding shotgun 1905
• rule of thumb 1685
• saved by the bell 1890
• sleep tight 1916
• son of a gun 1708
• spill the beans 1908
• steal someone’s thunder 1729
• straight from the horse’s mouth 1861
• the apple of my eye 885
• the ball is in your court
• the bee’s knees 1922
• the bitter end 1627
• the cat’s pyjamas 1919
• the full monty 1986
• the real mccoy 1856
• the third degree 1883
• the whole kit and caboodle 1884
• the whole nine yards 1962
• the whole shebang 1869
• the writing on the wall 1720
• to 86 something 1920
• turn a blind eye 1698
• wet your whistle 1390

Origin stories (5)

• The Origin of Boycott: The Land Agent Who Became a Verb
• The Origin of Gerrymander: A Governor, a Map, and a Salamander
• The Origin of OK: A Boston Joke That Ate the World
• The Origin of Quiz: Debunking the Dublin Bet
• The Origin of Sandwich: The Earl, the Card Table, and the Documented Truth

Guides (8)

• A beginner’s guide to etymology sources: what OED, Etymonline, Green’s and the rest are good for
• Biblical phrases in everyday English: which are genuine, which only sound holy
• How meanings drift: broadening, narrowing, amelioration and pejoration
• How Phrase Origins Are Established
• Nautical Phrases That Aren’t: The Work of CANOE
• Reading the OED’s Dating Conventions: A Reference Guide
• Why Folk Etymologies Spread
• Words and idioms that reversed meaning: a reference list with dates

Essays & from the blog (16)

• Notes: ‘Enshittification’, Spotted in the Wild and Run Down
• Reading the OED’s Dating Conventions Properly: a1400, c1500, and the Dagger
• Ghosts in the Machine: Why Some Metaphors Outlive Their Referent
• The Phrases Dying Right Now — and What Replaces Them
• Words That Turned Round: Idioms and Terms That Reversed Meaning Entirely
• Google Ngram: what it shows and what it can’t
• How first attestation is actually established
• How chain emails and viral posts became folk etymology
• The acronym problem: why “posh”, “golf” and “tips” aren’t acronyms
• Who invented “saved by the bell”? The safety-coffin myth vs the boxing record
• The rule of thumb story: tracing a myth to its source
• Why We Publish “Origin Unknown”
• Wartime Slang That Outlived the War
• The King James Bible’s Quiet Grip on Everyday Speech
• By and Large: How Sailors Gave English So Much of Its Vocabulary
• The Phrases Shakespeare Actually Coined — and the Ones He Only Popularised