Where does the saying done up to the nines come from?
Where does the saying done up to the nines come from?
The phrase is said to be Scots in origin. The earliest written example of the phrase is from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton: The bonny Lines therein thou sent me, How to the nines they did content me.
Where does the term peter out come from?
Etymology. 1846 US miners’ slang, from 1812 peter (“to become exhausted”). Various speculative etymologies have been suggested, either from St. Peter (from the sense of “rock”), French péter (“to fart”), or saltpeter (ingredient in gunpowder, hence used in mining).
Where did the phrase cat’s pajamas come from?
“The cat’s pajamas” is first recorded in 1920 as part of the typical vocabulary of Jazz Age flappers and was soon popularized by cartoonist Tad Dorgan in his comic strip Indoor Sports.
What does it mean you are the cat’s pajamas?
informal + old-fashioned. : a highly admired or exceptionally excellent person or thing He’s the cat’s pajamas, I couldn’t love, respect, admire, and enjoy that individual more than I do.—
What does the cat got your tongue mean?
informal. —used to ask someone why he or she is not saying anything “You’ve been unusually quiet tonight,” she said.
What does let the cat out of the bag mean?
Letting the cat out of the bag (also box) is a colloquialism meaning to reveal facts previously hidden.
What is buy a pig in a poke?
A pig in a poke is a thing that is bought without first being inspected, and thus of unknown authenticity or quality. The idiom is attested in 1555: I wyll neuer bye the pyg in the poke. Thers many a foule pyg in a feyre cloke. A “poke” is a bag, so the image is of a concealed item being sold.
Who let the cat out of the old bag’s house?
Bubbie
What is a horses mouth called?
As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the “bridle” includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear without a bit that uses a noseband to control a horse is called a hackamore, or, in some areas, a bitless bridle.
What does a bull in a china shop mean?
: a person who breaks things or who often makes mistakes or causes damage in situations that require careful thinking or behavior.
Is a bull in a china shop a cliche?
Like a bull in a china shop means behaving in a clumsy manner, behaving in a reckless manner, rushing head-long into a situation without forethought. The idiom like a bull in a china shop may have its roots in a metaphor provided by Aesop of an ass in a pottery shop.
Has there ever been a bull in a china shop?
By the way, the only recorded incident I know of in which a bull was deliberately introduced into a china shop was one engineered by the famous American publicist and press agent Jim Moran, who in January 1940 led a bull through a New York City china shop as a publicity stunt.
Why does a bull go mad in a china shop?
If someone is like a bull in a china shop, they are very careless in the way that they move or behave: We told her it was a delicate situation but she went into the meeting like a bull in a china shop. Want to learn more?
Is it bowl in a china shop?
The phrase a bull in a china shop refers to a person who accidentally breaks things out of clumsiness. Note: This idiom is sometimes confused as “a bowl in a china shop.” …
What does it mean to call someone a bull?
slang : to fool especially by fast boastful talk. intransitive verb. slang : to engage in idle and boastful talk. bull. noun (3)
What is the opposite of a bull in a china shop?
What is the opposite of bull in a china shop?
| cautious | careful |
|---|---|
| heedful | prudent |
| responsible | safe |
| wary | cowardly |
| staid |
Do we eat bulls?
Normally we don’t eat bulls because they have such high testosterone their meat is lean and tough. Old mamas and bulls are ground into glue or cat food. You know what the difference between steaks and beef is? Steaks come from bulls or cows, while beef only comes from bulls and cows.
Are Bulls offensive?
Fittingly, the word bull is sometimes also used for a particularly bulky, muscular man. Another informal and slightly obscene meaning is “ridiculous,” or “not true,” as when you tell a lie and your brother rudely replies, “Bull!” This slang meaning has its roots in the Old French bole, “deception or trick.”
What is another name for a bull?
What is another word for bulls?
| livestock | cows |
|---|---|
| wagyu | yaks |
| buffaloes | neat |
| kine | beasts |
| shorthorns | longhorn |
How do you describe a bull?
Here are some adjectives for bull: great, stocky, highly confusing, slippery, hairless, stale irish, later papal, pitiable, furious, massive, wild, unprecedented papal, green and well-endowed, prodigious wild, weary and furious, fat five-year-old, ancient and scarred, young, prime, white and tame, famous papal.