On The Bubble Meaning On the threshold; finely balanced between success and failure. For example, if a qualifying competition for an event allowed the top eight runners to proceed …
On The Ball Meaning To be on top of a situation; in control. Example If you were a bit more on the ball, we might have averted the reactor …
On Cloud 9 Meaning A feeling of euphoric exaltation. Example Canadian Senate members, once appointed to their patronage positions, feel as though they’re on cloud 9. Origin Clouds are …
On a Lark Meaning To do something on a whim or just for fun. Example On a lark we diverted our journey from Rome to. Amsterdam. Origin A lark, …
Okey-Dokey Meaning Okay. There are some late 20th century alternative meanings, limited to the USA, e.g. ‘absurd or ridiculous’ and ‘to swindle or deceive’. Origin This little phrase is …
Off The Record Meaning Something said in confidence that the speaker doesn’t want attributed to them. Origin This is an American phrase and began to be used there in …
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Meaning Literal meaning. Example Origin The ‘wherefore’ here means why rather than where. What Juliet is asking, in allusion to the feud …
Nul Points Meaning ‘No points’ the lowest possible score awarded to performers in the Eurovision Song Contest. The term is also sometimes used as a jokey judgement on any …
No Way, Jose Meaning Absolutely not; never. Origin This slang expression originated in America sometime around the 1960s. In Chapman and Kipfer’s Dictionary of American Slang ‘no way’ is …
No Man is an Island Meaning Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others. Donne was a Christian but this concept is shared by other religions, principally Buddhism. …
