1
"Bob’s your Uncle"
Meaning: To achieve something with great ease
Origin: In 1886 PM Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury) surprisingly made Arthur Balfour Chief Secretary of Ireland; Balfour was ‘Bob’s’ nephew…
Origin: In 1886 PM Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (Lord Salisbury) surprisingly made Arthur Balfour Chief Secretary of Ireland; Balfour was ‘Bob’s’ nephew…
76Votes
2
"Mad as a hatter"
Meaning: To be completely insane
Origin: In the 18th and 19th century mercury was used in felting – and hat making; the madness of hat makers was the result of mercury poisoning
Origin: In the 18th and 19th century mercury was used in felting – and hat making; the madness of hat makers was the result of mercury poisoning
57Votes
3
"Kick the bucket"
Meaning: To die
Origin: Popular understanding is that in a lynching someone would kick the bucket away from under the person about to be hanged. However, a 1570 English dictionary records the word ‘bucket’ as a synonym for ‘beam’ - animals for slaughter would be hung upside down from such a beam and would kick the bucket (or beam) in their struggle during slaughter
Origin: Popular understanding is that in a lynching someone would kick the bucket away from under the person about to be hanged. However, a 1570 English dictionary records the word ‘bucket’ as a synonym for ‘beam’ - animals for slaughter would be hung upside down from such a beam and would kick the bucket (or beam) in their struggle during slaughter
54Votes
4
"Bite the bullet"
Meaning: To do something unpleasant
Origin: When wounded soldiers in WW1 being operated on without anaesthetic literally had to bite a bullet to deal with the pain
Origin: When wounded soldiers in WW1 being operated on without anaesthetic literally had to bite a bullet to deal with the pain
49Votes
5
"Piss Poor"
Meaning: To be extremely poor
Origin: In ancient times, urine was used in tanneries to soak the animal hides. A way for very poor families to make a few pennies was to sell their urine
Origin: In ancient times, urine was used in tanneries to soak the animal hides. A way for very poor families to make a few pennies was to sell their urine
46Votes
6
"Fly by the seats of your pants"
Meaning: To do something without a clear plan, to improvise
Origin: Used in a 1938 headline to describe Douglas Corrigan’s 29 hour flight from Brooklyn to Dublin, which was meant to be to California. Corrigan had filed for a transatlantic flight two days earlier but it was rejected because his plane was not considered fit for the job. Upon landing in Dublin he claimed his compass had packed up…
Origin: Used in a 1938 headline to describe Douglas Corrigan’s 29 hour flight from Brooklyn to Dublin, which was meant to be to California. Corrigan had filed for a transatlantic flight two days earlier but it was rejected because his plane was not considered fit for the job. Upon landing in Dublin he claimed his compass had packed up…
44Votes
7
"Go doolally"
Meaning: To go mad
Origin: After the Indian garrison town of Deolali where British soldiers waited, sometimes for months, to be taken back to Britain after their tour of duty. There was nothing to do and many may have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Origin: After the Indian garrison town of Deolali where British soldiers waited, sometimes for months, to be taken back to Britain after their tour of duty. There was nothing to do and many may have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
42Votes
8
"It’s brass monkeys outside"
Meaning: Freezing cold and miserable weather
Origin: ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’. A ship’s cannon balls used to be stacked on a brass structure called a ‘monkey’; the brass would contract in arctic temperatures and the cannon balls would fall off
Origin: ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’. A ship’s cannon balls used to be stacked on a brass structure called a ‘monkey’; the brass would contract in arctic temperatures and the cannon balls would fall off
39Votes
9
"Taking the Mickey"
Meaning: To make fun of someone
Origin: As so often in rhyming slang, the actual rhyming word, Mickey ‘Bliss’ is left out. Some sources claim he was a 1950s BBC radio personality, but Mr Bliss remains elusive
Origin: As so often in rhyming slang, the actual rhyming word, Mickey ‘Bliss’ is left out. Some sources claim he was a 1950s BBC radio personality, but Mr Bliss remains elusive
38Votes
10
"Three sheets to the wind"
Meaning: Very drunk and walking correspondingly unsteadily
Origin: ‘Sheets’ refers to the ropes with which a sail is fastened, two per sail. If out of four sheets, one was not properly fastened, the ship would become difficult to control and would be ‘to the wind’, moving as erratically as a drunk
Origin: ‘Sheets’ refers to the ropes with which a sail is fastened, two per sail. If out of four sheets, one was not properly fastened, the ship would become difficult to control and would be ‘to the wind’, moving as erratically as a drunk
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