Category: English Phrase
Needs Must Meaning Necessity compels. In current usage this phrase is usually used to express something that is done unwillingly but with an acceptance that it can’t be avoided. …
Nasty, Brutish and Short Meaning The life of mankind when in his natural state. Origin Nasty, brutish and short aren’t a firm of particularly unpleasant lawyers but a quotation …
Name will be Mudd Meaning Reputation will be ruined. Example If word gets out that you are a peeping Tom, your name will be mudd. Origin A reference to …
Name and Shame Meaning The publication of the identity of a person or group that is culpable in some anti-social act in order to shame them into remorse. Origin …
Namby-Pamby Meaning Weak and affectedly sentimental. Origin Namby-Pamby was the disparaging nickname given to the English poet and playwright, Ambrose Phillips. His contemporaries Henry Carey, John Gay, Alexander Pope …
Nail Your Colours to the Mast Meaning To display one’s opinions and beliefs. Also used to mean to show one’s intention to hold on to those beliefs until the …
My Giddy Aunt Meaning My giddy aunt is an expression used to denote surprise. Origin The giddy in this instance is probably unrelated to a sense of spinning around …
My Better Half Meaning My husband or my wife. Origin This term wasn’t originally restricted to referring to one’s spouse as we use it now, but to a dear …
Mouth-Watering Meaning Delicious; tasty enough to make you salivate. Origin The term mouth-watering has been used since the late 18th century to describe people whose mouth was salivating at …
Middle of The Road Meaning Something unadventurous or inoffensive; opting to go neither one way nor the other. Origin This phrase conjures up similar images to that of ‘sitting …
