all aboard

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-all aboard.wav

A cry to passengers to board a train or boat that is soon to depart.


who would have thought it

I'm surprised you didn't like the movie, who'd've thought it? I'd've thought it was just your kind of thing.

"Who would have thought it, James?" he remarked at length. "Great Scot! I shall have to get a partner."

1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:

rhetorical question
rhetorical question#English

A rhetorical question used to express incredulity or surprise: who would have guessed it?; who would have thought that would happen?


WYSIWYM

Coined in reference to the earlier WYSIWYG.

what you see is what you mean
what you see is what you mean

(business) what you see is what you mean.

what you see is what you match
what you see is what you match

(software) what you see is what you match.


don't worry

A: What about the late fee? B: Don't worry about it — it's only a little bit.

Indicates to the interlocutor not to worry (feel anxiety) about something.

لَا تَقْلَقْ m. sg.

indicates to the interlocutor not to worry about something

毋通煩惱 /毋通烦恼

m̄-thang hoân-ló / m̄-thang hoân-hó / mang hoân-ló / mang hoân-hó

心配しないでください

しんぱいしないでください

A: How much did you make on that side gig with Julio and those guys? B: Don't worry about it — it's only a little bit.

none of your business
none of your business#English

(idiomatic, informal, oblique) Synonym of none of your business.


tf

Alternative form: TF

tf is that?

(Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar) Initialism of the fuck.


and be done with it

―I hate this medicine!
―Just take the horrid-tasting stuff and be done with it.

One junior minister failed to see why main lines could not simply be turned into motorways and be done with it.

2024 January 10, Howard Johnston, “Launched for enthusiasts - now it's for everyone”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 28:

Used to terminate discussion or delay with a call to action


DAPO

(aviation, travel) Acronym of do all possible (followed by requested task).


what the deuce

I don't know what the deuce you think you're doing.


on the huh

You'd better put them shelves up again, mate. They're all on the huh.

(East Anglia) not level, not square, not straight


I'll be bound

Where are those teenagers going at this time of night? Up to no good, I'll be bound!


let the dog see the rabbit

Get out of the way, so I can see what I'm doing.


could have, would have, should have

Expressing regret at something that cannot now be changed. (This stems from expressing that someone could have, would have or should have done something)


should've would've could've

could have, would have, should have#English

Alternative form of could have, would have, should have.


a.c.

(medicine) Initialism of ante cibum (“before meals”).


PTS

(Internet) Initialism of pay to surf: a business model where users are paid for viewing advertisements while browsing the World Wide Web.


back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp.wav

"With that hairstyle, you may fancy yourself as Marilyn Monroe, but with those black roots and big ears, you look more like Minnie Mouse..."
"Ooh, get back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp!" sniped Cat.

2010, Mel Sparke, Sugar Secrets (4) – ...and Freedom:

'At least he's not covered in ginger fur. You might like to take a leaf out of his book, Frankie. Nothing wrong with hair dye, you know.'
'Well, back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp,' Frank says, somewhat camply.

'Fat as ever?' asked Walpole.
'Fatter. She keeps advising Miss Farren to eat more whey, the cheek of her! Oh, and she's got her own faro table these days, so she can fleece her friends without going out in the cold.'
'Back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp,' cried Walpole with a shiver of enjoyment.

Said as a retort to somebody who has made a cutting remark.


wonders never cease

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wonders never cease.wav

John did his homework! Wonders never cease!

(humorous, often sarcastic) Expresses surprise at an unusual action.


(medicine) Once per day, used for prescription directions.


how do

How do, bud? I'm bettin' this is your first time visitin' a shop, am I right or am I right?

2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube:

(colloquial) Alternative form of how do you do.


search me

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-search me.wav

—Where did he find the money to buy a car like that? —Search me!

(informal) I don't know; I have no idea.


gods bless you

Gods bless you dear.....*wiping the tears of sentiment away from my grizzled 34 yo eyes*......GODS BLESS YOU! *G*

April 1999, Jeanine Gravitt (username), Re: YOUNG? He Called me "Young" in alt.religion.wicca (Usenet)

‘Gods bless you,’ she screamed down the slate, into the night.

2002, China Miéville, Perdido Street Station, Macmillan, page 782:

Ps-This is all up to you, Gods bless you —you have the potential to make to happen.

2009, Richard Walsh, True Jersey City Story: Super Proud Dad 14 Years of Motivational Letters, AuthorHouse, page 161:

[…]. The whole Ojito Nation’s with you, bother of my soul and heart, gods bless you—oh, gods bless you, Jackie!”

2009, Jeffrey A. Friedberg, Black Road 2012, INDI, page 179:


PLOKTA

(computing, humorous) Initialism of press lots of keys to abort.


no names, no pack drill

Of military origin; see drill (“military exercise”).

No way. I told you at the start. No names, no fucking pack-drill.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 290:

Not mentioning the names of miscreants to prevent them from getting into trouble.


your guess is as good as mine

(idiomatic) I don't know; I have no idea.

مَا الْمَسْؤُولُ بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِلِ


I can tell you

We had trouble getting that grand piano up the stairs, I can tell you!

(idiomatic, colloquial) Emphasises the truth of a statement.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see I, can, tell, you.


lefty loosey, righty tighty

righty tighty, lefty loosey
righty tighty, lefty loosey#English

Alternative form of righty tighty, lefty loosey.


HMU

hmu for a good time

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of hit me up; contact me at a later time.


three green

From the green indicator lights on the aircraft panel, one for each wheel or set of wheels.

(aviation) A confirmation given by the pilots that the landing gear has gone down successfully and has locked.


what do you mean

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-what do you mean.wav

A request for clarification of an anterior statement or question.

你這是什麼意思？ /你这是什么意思？

what do you mean? (request for clarification)

What do you mean, it was all my fault?

What do you frigging mean by waking me up at this time of night?

An expression of surprise, annoyance, or disagreement to an anterior statement.


argle-bargle morble whoosh

Frito smiled diplomatically, but was suddenly stricken by a severe stomachache. His eyes began to roll and he felt very light-headed. Probably a touch of the banshee two-step, he thought as his ears started to ring like a dwarf's cash register. His tongue felt thick and his tail began to vibrate. Turning to Spam, he wished to ask him if he felt it, too. ¶ “Argle-bargle morble whoosh?” said Frito.

1969, The Harvard Lampoon (Henry N. Beard, Douglas C. Kenney), Bored of the Rings, Signet, page 30:

>It is sad to see how permanently rebellion sets in once you let it start.
 >This is what prevents language acquisition.
Argle bargle morble whoosh?

1998 March 20, Matthew P Wiener, “Re: Go figure (was San Francisco book lists criticized)”, in rec.arts.books (Usenet), message-ID <6eu56o$7b8$1@netnews.upenn.edu>:

Well, LSD does play a part in the plot of Skidoo, and rumour has it Otto Pebblejar took some himself to get the feel of it for the film. I'm trying to imagine the camp comander of Stalag 17 on acid...and it's not a pretty picture. ¶ Ve haf vays to make.....argle bargle morble vooosh!

1999 May 3, Stephen Cooke, “Re: Strangest cast ever?”, in rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc (Usenet), message-ID <Pine.GSO.3.95.iB1.0.990503094656.11947F-100000@halifax.chebucto.ns.ca>:

During games in college, I would occasionally (IC and OOC) express bewilderment by uttering, "Argle bargle morble whoosh?" Finally, another player pinned me to the couch and demanded, "No argling, and no bargling!" He had never read the book.

[1999 July 31, Robert Vincent Walker-Smith, “Re: Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings"?”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet), message-ID <19990731150648.10180.00004096@ng-ff1.aol.com>:

(humorous) Expressing confusion as if under the influence of LSD.


dafuq

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-dafuq.wav

Donnie: Where dafuq r u?

2012, Connie Anne McEntee, Waking for Hours, iUniverse, published 2012, →ISBN, page 193:

If you're lonely, do not be some stubborn brat who only needs company and will hump anything that'll walk and give you the time of day...like, dafuq do you think you are? Barney Stinson?

2012, Maika Duperval, "The Friend Zone", The Plant (Dawson College), Volume 40, Issue 21, 5 April 2012, page 17

Alright OKCupid, in the first 10 questions you’ve already asked me if I’d rather be normal or weird, if I’m happy, and if religion or race matters to me. Dafuq OKCupid? I thought you were cool and the questions would be about my favorite super power (invisibility, duh), or which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle I most closely align with (Michelangelo).

2012 October 30, Michael Voloshin, “Getting Hit With OKCupid's questionarrow”, in The Daily Cardinal, volume 122, number 42, page 2:

(vulgar, Internet slang, text messaging) The fuck, what the fuck.


okey-dokey, Smokey

okey-dokey extended with a further arbitrary rhyme; Smokey is a nickname.

okey-dokey, smokey (alternative)
okey dokey, Smokey (alternative)
okey dokey, smokey (alternative)
okey-dokey Smokey (alternative)
okey-dokey smokey (alternative)
okey dokey Smokey (alternative)
okey dokey smokey (alternative)
okey-dokey-smokey (alternative)

"I am so glad you made that rim shot," said the trooper, "because if you pirates so much as litter the streets again, I'll put you inside until your chrome rusts. Do you copy that?"
"Okey-dokey, Smokey," yawned Wulff.

1990, Barry McGuire, Logan White, In the Midst of Wolves, Crossway Books, published 1990, →ISBN, page 72:

"Well, we've got you booked to spend the night at the training center's dorms, anyway. Why don't you check out how you like it, and we'll regroup in the morning to reassess where we stand. Okey-dokey, Smokey?”

2007, Alina Adams, Skate Crime, Berkley, published 2007, →ISBN, page 70:

"Okey-dokey, Smokey. It's yer nickel."

2007, Bill Bryan, Keep It Real, Bleak House Books, published 2007, →ISBN, page 130:


okey-dokey, smokey

"Good evening, Ron. What do you say, let's get the female victim out first."
"Okey-dokey, smokey."

2002, Pete Edwards, Talk to Bears, Virtualbookworm.com, →ISBN, page 44:

“Okey-dokey, smokey," she chirped. "Let's go for lunch. […]

2009, Celeste Marsella, Perfectly Criminal, Bantam Dell, →ISBN, page 206:

okey-dokey, Smokey
okey-dokey, Smokey#English


okey dokey, Smokey

Okey dokey, Smokey, now where were we?

2011, Brendan Lauritz, Working Backwards: Miser-Ee to Destin-Ee to Happy-Me, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 119:

“Let's figure out a time when we can talk next week.”
“Okey dokey, Smokey.”

2011, Joe Townsend, Shawn Doyle, The Soul Survivor, Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., →ISBN:


okey dokey, smokey

“Naturally, this game can take some time but we've got plenty of that. Are you ready!"
We shouted in unison, "Yes!"
“Okey dokey, smokey."

1988, Rita Mae Brown, Bingo, Bantam Dell, published 2008, →ISBN, page 315:

'Okey dokey, smokey. Tata, as you ol' limeys say!'

2012, Fidelis Morgan, The Murder Quadrille, →ISBN:


okey dokey smokey

Bobby was ready to rock and roll with a full tilt bluff. He pushed three hundred thousand in chips into the pot.
“Okey dokey smokey, deal.”

2001, Mark Joseph, The Wild Card, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN:

“I've got to talk to you.”
“Okey dokey smokey.”

2002, Catherine Dixon Leigh, Lost in the Flood, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 82:

“Okey dokey smokey. Thanks a bunch.”

2010, Daniel Quiles Pagan, NetherWorld, →ISBN, page 168:


okey-dokey-smokey

"So if I sat around here and got fat and pale and mousy-brown, it would be okey-dokey-smokey?"

2000, Craig Curtis, Fabulous Hell, Alyson Books, →ISBN:

He gave me a smile, and it was pretty genuine. "Okey-dokey-smokey?"

2003, James Dashner, A Door in the Woods, Bonneville Books, →ISBN, page 39:

“Okey-dokey-smokey, I'll remember,” Stevie Rae said and then grinned at the four of us.

2008, P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Chosen, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 295:


my head's a shed

(UK, slang) I am confused, stressed, mentally disoriented, etc.


SOTI

(aviation, travel, fare construction, dated) Sold outside, ticketed inside. (relative to the country of origin of travel).


SOTO

(aviation, travel, fare construction, dated) Sold outside, ticketed outside,(relative to the country of origin of travel).


SITO

(aviation, travel, fare construction, dated) Sold inside, ticketed outside, (relative to the country of origin of travel).


SITI

(aviation, travel, fare construction, dated) Sold inside, ticketed inside. (relative to the country of origin of travel).


Klaatu barada nikto

From the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, in which an alien named Klaatu tells an Earthwoman a code phrase for his robot Gort. See first citation.

If anything should happen to me you must go to Gort, you must say these words, 'Klaatu barada nikto', please repeat that.

When I tried to make out the lingo I felt like a missionary among the heathen chinee. ¶ 'Interavesting per sliptimper transgratisfy allayvoo —' ¶ 'Not the old klaatu barada again,' I said ....

2002, Jack Womack, Going, Going, Gone, Grove Press, page 160:

He glared down at me and said, "On your way, fella. This is a legitimate club." ¶ "Klaatu barada nikto," I said, but it went straight past him.

2003, Paul McAuley, Whole Wide World, Macmillan, page 215:

The Systems Analysis department featured a clock with only one hand and the motto Klaatu barada nikto, which, roughly translated, means: "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, JUST GIVE ME TIME."

2004, James Hold, Out of Texas, iUniverse, page 56:

It looked like something from Arthur C. Clarke, a space station that had ... fallen to earth .... ¶ "Klaatu barada nikto," he muttered.

2012, Terry Bisson, Any Day Now, Penguin, page ??:

A stock science-fiction phrase, typically used as a code or shibboleth.

Klaatu barada nikto
The Day the Earth Stood Still


were you born in a tent

(idiomatic) An admonishment to someone who has left a door open.


I'm a Protestant

Indicates that the speaker is a Protestant.


diddle for middle

middle for diddle
middle for diddle#English


middle for diddle

(darts) The throw of a dart to decide who has first throw in a game darts: nearest the bullseye has first throw.


et ux.

et ux (alternative)
& ux. (alternative)
& uxor (alternative)
etux (alternative)


always the bridesmaid, never the bride

always a bridesmaid, never a bride#English

Alternative form of always a bridesmaid, never a bride.


IGMC

No probs, although I dunno why you'd want to go in there in the first place...bunch of weirdos in there....whaddya mean I've been seen there? Ah..erm...IGMC.

1999, [TAA]GreyJackal, “Quake2.uk.ng ... Hello...anyone there?”, in uk.games.computer.quake2 (Usenet):

The Indian brave [1] inherited a wigwam. This left him in a bit of a quandary. Which to use? His old Tepee, or his new Wigwam? He was sorely vexed by his dilemma, so much so that he couldn't get to sleep. He went to see the medicine man. "I know what your problem is" said the medicine man "Your two tents" IGMC

2002, No Sheds, “Native American Corner...”, in uk.rec.humour (Usenet):

As no-one else seems to have pointed it out, I will. LICENCE is perfectly good English spelling. In England we tend to use LICENSING and LICENCE wheras^([sic]) LICENSE is regarded as an Americanism. IGMC.

2012, Mike Brown, “Radio mic frequency.”, in uk.tech.broadcast (Usenet):

I'll get my coat
I'll get my coat#English

(Internet slang, UK, humorous) Initialism of I'll get my coat (“admission that one has embarrassed oneself and should leave”).


here's mud in your eye

That's not skiting, sport. Edward Garnett reckons you're the best new thing in the Empire, and so do I. Good on you, mate, nothing on earth can stop you now! Here's mud in your eye.

2006, Pip Wilson, Faces in the Street: Louisa and Henry Lawson and the Castlereagh Street Push, 2nd edition, Coffs Harbour, N.S.W.: Pip Wilson, →ISBN, page 405:

A good-natured toast used when drinking an alcoholic beverage.


is there a grocery store nearby

Indicates that the speaker wants to know whether a grocery store is nearby.


I'm looking for a grocery store

Indicates that the speaker is looking for a grocery store.

estou buscando unha tenda de comestibles

スーパーやコンビニを探してるのですが

sūpā ya konbini wo sagashiteru no desu ga

estoy buscando una tienda de comestibles


to be named later

From the common use of the expression in U.S. newspaper reports of trades of professional sports players between teams, especially in baseball.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see be, name, later.


you'll be late for your own funeral

(humorous) Said as a mild admonishment to somebody who is always late for things.


head

you'd complain if you were hung with a new rope

(humorous) Said as a mild admonishment to somebody who is always complaining.


that dog won't hunt

Apparently originating from the southern United States, the phrase may refer to a hunting dog that refuses to do its job.

‘If the’ ain’t no fools, the’ ain’t no fun,’ said usually in self-derision; and ‘That old dog won't hunt,’ meaning that an excuse offered will not serve. These and the numerous specimens which follow have simply been grouped by the present writer under the heading of Miscellaneous, explanations being made only when the meaning is not clearly evident.

[1939 December, Paul Brewster, “Folk ‘Sayings’ from Indiana”, in American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage, volume XIV, [Tuscaloosa, Ala.]: Published by the University of Alabama Press for the American Dialect Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 266:

"Calling her house help Mr. and Mrs. just won't get it! That old dog won't hunt," Oman had confided. / "I know, but let her discover it herself," Steve had said.]

[1965, Jesse Hill Ford, The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, OCLC 291992; republished as The Liberation of L. B. Jones (Signet Novel; Y4209), New York, N.Y.: New American Library, 1967, OCLC 29459320, page 41

On the [Arthur] Goldberg proposal to stop all the bombing, [Ellsworth] Bunker "came back strong and said, 'I just can't. That dog won't hunt. We just cannot get that over, it would just blow everything.'[…]"

1970 February 7, “Rusk advocated halt of bombing: LBJ says in interview”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, page 3A, column 1:

If, as is more likely, Mr. [Ronald] Reagan's plan is just a ploy to win votes for renewed military aid to the C.I.A.-organized and C.I.A.-controlled contras in Nicaragua, a Congress burned once too often should be able to see right through it. Either way, as Lyndon Johnson used to say of losing propositions, "That dog won't hunt."

1987 August 6, Tom Wicker, “In the nation: That dog won't hunt”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-05-24:

“Oh, what in the Sam Hill are you a-wearing? I thought I was supposed to be Twain.” “I say you are incorrect, sir. I believe we decided I would be Twain.” “Twin Twains? That dog won't hunt.” “Uh, Mr. Clemens?” “Mmhmm. That's me.” “No, I'm Twain. Switch costumes, you ignominious pretender.” “You're more stubborn than a senate mule.” “Grits, grits, grits!” “Tarnation!” “Fancy pants, big-city lawyer.” “I say you are incorrect, sir.”

2023 September 21, Grace Parra Janney, “Something Borrowed, Something Green” (9:24 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 4, episode 4, spoken by Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid):

(US) That idea will not work; that is an inadequate explanation or proposition.


consider it done

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-consider it done.wav

Used to indicate an intent to fulfil a request or order promptly.


the cake is a lie

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-the cake is a lie.wav

From the video game Portal (2007), in which a self-aware computer, GLaDOS, lures the player into participating in dangerous experiments with the promise of cake. As the game progresses, the player discovers graffiti left by the only previous test subject to survive GLaDOS' murderous scheme, including the warning "the cake is a lie".

The jokes are cake, and the cake is a lie — fan-service tricking nerds into watching a show designed for adults who vote Republican (Middle America!).

2011 December 15, Nick Martin, “A Hit Sitcom In Just Five Easy Steps!”, in Buzz Weekly, page 6:

The assumption that a degree will vastly improve future earnings is increasingly misleading. By their very nature high paid jobs are exclusive and limited in number. "The cake is a lie."

2012, James Margeson, "The quiet assault on public education", The Sphinx (University of Liverpool), March 2012, page 9

“One shitty leader doesn't mean the cake is a lie. One man's decisions don't invalidate everything else—the ideals, the history, the words etched in marble and the sacrifices of all the people who make the United States a just and safe place to live.”

2012 November 12, J. L. Hilton, Stellarnet Prince, Carina Press, →ISBN, page 320:

(Internet slang) The end being pursued is unattainable or misguided; the reward promised is false.


FSVO

(mathematics, programming, Internet slang) Initialism of for some values of.


my body is ready

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-my body is ready.wav

From an impromptu comment made by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime while volunteering to try the Wii Balance Board during a demonstration of Wii Fit at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2007.

I noticed many innuendos that the general children’s audience may not pick up; “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” with Nala and Simba? I sure did, especially when she gave Simba the “my body is ready” face towards the end of the song.

2011, Phaedra Brady, "Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful flick", The Eye (Palm Harbor University High School), 3 October 2011

My grand idea is to slip the handsome James Dean look-alike in my History class a note that says "My body is ready, do me."

2012, Tanya Paz, "February Goes Down The Shitter", The Union Weekly (California State University, Long Beach), Volume 70, Issue 4, 13 February 2012, page 4

Then I found Trent University. Having heard rumours that it was "the gayest school in Canada", I burned with a newfound resolve – the conviction that this was the time and place where I would finally grow to be more than a straight young white guy. Finally I would go beyond the existence of a one-dimensional character in a pre-1960's middle class novel about the racial majority.
Introductory Seminar Week: my body is ready. This is it. This is when everyone lets loose. I can't let this opportunity slip away… […]

2013, Flavius S. Mercurius, "Coming Out of the Closet: A Story", Arthur (Trent University), Volume 47, Issue 13 (satire edition), 7 January 2013

(chiefly Internet slang) Used to express preparation for and excitement over something, especially sex.

Electronic Entertainment Expo
Wii Balance Board


I couldn't have said it better myself

Used to wholeheartedly agree with somebody else's remark


you said it

Used to express complete agreement with a previous statement by the interlocutor.

A: I kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, but now where have we arrived at? Call a spade a spade: he's a liar!   B: You said it — I didn't.

en:speaker emphasizes that the interlocutor is the one who chose the words

Used to emphasize that a wording or a turn of phrase was chosen by the interlocutor, not by the speaker.


cruisin' for a bruisin'

By measures of valuation, the market is cruisin’ for a bruisin’.

November 1987, Manuel Schiffres and Wendy Van Cott, “How to tell if the bear is back”, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, ISSN 1528-9729, vol. 41, no. 11, p. 67

Worse still, we’re told that gentleness is weakness, that love is just asking for grief, that generosity is fecklessness, that openness is cruisin’ for a bruisin’.

1998, Molly Wolf, Hiding in Plain Sight: Sabbath Blessings, Liturgical Press, →ISBN, page 19:

cruising for a bruising
cruising for a bruising#English

Alternative form of cruising for a bruising.


YoB

Alternative spelling of YOB (year of birth)


AFAIU

(Internet slang, initialism) As far as I understand.


comp.

(in bibliographies) Abbreviation of compiled.


the dear knows

Unclear. Bliss and Dolan suggest a conflation of dear, as in "oh dear" or "the Dear Lord", and deer, by analogy with the conflation in Irish of Fiadha "God" and fiadh "deer".

O thou, whom poets call Melpomene,
Who hast inspir'd, the dear knows how many
In ancient times to sing O Dear O's
On hapless fates of unknown heroes,

1806 'Caleb Thistle' "How are the mighty fallen!" in The Evening Fire-side; or Literary Miscellany (Philadelphia; 10 May 1806) Vol.II No.19 p.147

I know where I’m going,
I know who’s going with me,
I know who I love,
But the dear knows who I’ll marry.

19th century Anonymous Irish or Scottish ballad, I Know Where I’m Going

And there it sits, spreading rubbish about because of the cats, and smelling like the Dear knows what.

2004, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, The Dear Departed, page 205:

(Ireland, dated) God knows; nobody knows

Then she gave a little sigh and said: ‘Ah, well! We did our best, the dear knows.’

1904–1907 (date written), James Joyce, “A Mother”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC, page 173:

The dear knows your father worked hard enough for the money he is laying out on your education.

1939, Flann O'Brien, chapter 1, in At Swim-two-birds:

(Ireland, dated) God knows; of course, certainly, nobody could doubt


a week is a long time in politics

en-au-a week is a long time in politics.ogg

Usually attributed to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the mid-1960s. Also used by (and incorrectly attributed to) Australian PM Gough Whitlam in the 1970s.

(idiomatic) In politics, much change can occur in a short space of time.


LMK

LMK if you want to chat later.

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of let me know.


one age with

Is Bill thirty years old now? I thought he was one age with our Sarah.


still got one's communion money

Implying that the person still has the small monetary gift they were given for their First Communion in their youth.


bigger than Ben Hur

A comparison to the extravagance of the 1899 play Ben-Hur. Though the phrase is often erroneously claimed to have been coined in reference to the 1959 film, use of the phrase long predates the film.

150 People, Arabs, Camels, Horses, Donkeys and Goats
The Eighth Wonder of the World
BIGGER THAN “BEN-HUR”

1916, Columbia Theatre advertisement in The Argonaut, Volume 79, No. 2071, page 379

(simile, informal, comical) huge, extravagant.


FTBFS

(computing) Initialism of fails to build from source: said of a computer program that cannot be built from its source code due to errors.


better to be late than be dead on time

A play on the term "dead on time" meaning exactly on time, but also meaning deceased.

It is better to arrive late than to risk one's life speeding to a destination.


FYFI

(Internet slang) Initialism of for your further information.


ignorantia juris non excusat

Borrowed from Latin ignōrantia factī excūsat, ignōrantia jūris nōn excūsat (“ignorance of fact excuses, ignorance of law does not excuse”).

bor

ignorantia juris neminem excusat (alternative)
ignorantia legis non excusat (alternative)
ignorantia legis neminem excusat (alternative)

[…] it is an offence against the duty of his place, and a forfeiture of his office; though I do believe Dr. Bury did not intend upon this to affront the bishop, but ignorantia juris non excusat; if the law be so, we cannot alter it.

1908, “Term. Trin. 6 Will. & Mar. R. B.”, in The English Reports, volume XC: King’s Bench Division (XIX), Edinburgh: William Green & Sons, page 219:

Dr Killen noted that while ignorantia juris non excusat (ignorance of the low is no excuse) may apply the advice showed that his father, the late Mr G. L. Killen, who was chairman and managing director of Marra at the time, was entitled to believe he was acting lawfully and properly.

1979 December 29, Greg Bright, “Pressure off the Stock Exchange”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, number 44,318, page 28:

I pleaded no contest to a $15 parking ticket and Judge Pro Tem Noel Grefenson, probably eager to get lunch after a long morning, took mercy and discharged my fine with an admonishment of ignorantia juris non excusat. ¶ Actually, he didn’t scold me in Latin, but I got his drift nonetheless: “Ignorance of the law does not excuse” abiding by it.

2004 October 29, Carol McAlice Currie, “Unposted laws make downtown seem unwelcoming”, in Statesman Journal, volume 152, number 214, Salem, OR, page 1C:

Ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse.


LNU

(travel, aviation, genealogy) Initialism of last name unknown.


do not pass go, do not collect £200

From the board game Monopoly, where it was written on cards that sent the player's piece directly to jail.

do not pass go, do not collect $200 (alternative US)

A phrase telling someone to pursue a path directly without deviations.


back in the saddle

Eighteen months into his time off, a friend of Bean's who worked at Jaffe Raitt Heuer &; Weiss in Detroit had a large client that needed a senior attorney. Bean had not been actively looking to return to lawyering -- especially at a firm -- but the option to work part time appealed to him. " The client and I got along well and it was a nice firm, " Bean recalls. Before long, the position became full time and Bean is now a Jaffe Raitt partner. / "I'm back in the saddle," he says.

2009, "Off Track", Leslie A. Gordon, ABA Journal, Volume 95, Issue 2, pages 58-63

Returned to one's normal, healthy, functioning state, as from an interruption or setback.


head

do not pass Go, do not collect two hundred dollars

do not pass go, do not collect $200#English

Alternative spelling of do not pass go, do not collect $200.


let there be light

Subjunctive use from Genesis 1:3 in the King James Bible: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

Used as a metaphor for the spread of wisdom.


no trespassing

Used on notices, indicating that entry or access to a place is forbidden.


who died and left you in charge

En-au-who died and left you in charge.ogg

Sarcastic response to somebody assuming a position of authority that they have not earned.


one's ass is grass

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-one's ass is grass.wav

So if you're white and work for the system, watch your step. Whether you be a system cop, a control judge, or a crooked lawyer, your ass is grass.

1994, Mark S. Hamm, American Skinheads: The Criminology and Control of Hate Crime, page 209:

"His ass is grass," Rodney stated convincingly. Rodney Gates was a deadly individual who had no qualms about killing, so his statement caused no one to blink an eye.

2005, Renay Jackson, Peanut's Revenge, page 21:

(US, slang) One is doomed (used as a threat).


the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

Compare the Bible, Matthew 6:3: "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Two parts of an organization are unaware of each other's activities.

vasen käsi ei tiedä mitä oikea tekee

two parts of an organization are unaware of each other's activities

la mano destra non sa quello che fa la mano sinistra

a mão esquerda não sabe o que faz a direita

la mano izquierda no sabe lo que hace la derecha


rinse and repeat

lather, rinse, repeat
lather, rinse, repeat#English

Alternative form of lather, rinse, repeat.


I was born in ...

…-ban/-ben születtem (-ben in case of …1, …2, …4, …5, …7, …9, 1940, …50, …70, …90, 2000, and …10 while -ban in case of …3, …6, …8, …20, …30, …60, and …80)

я родила́сь в ... году́ f (ja rodilásʹ v ... godú) (the year is in the prepositional case)

narodila jsem se v ... f (the place name is in the dative case)

γεννήθηκα στο ...

the genders apply to the place name, not the speaker

…-ban/-ben születtem (the place name is in the inessive case or, in case of some Hungarian cities/towns/villages, in the superessive -on/-en/-ön/-n case)

urodziłam się w ... f (the place name is in the dative case)

я родила́сь в ... f (ja rodilásʹ v ...) (the place name is in the prepositional case)


make no mistake

Make no mistake. The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.

2001 September 11, George W. Bush, quotee, “Full transcript of George Bush's statement”, in The Guardian:

“Make no mistake, they come to kill and rape until the entire Northland is levied into their army.”

2010, Peter V. Brett, The Desert Spear, page 384:

Kai Havertz - who endured another frustrating afternoon - should have done better from a Saka corner and Trossard had another powerful drive tipped over by Trafford, but the Belgian made no mistake after Saka rose highest to steer a Zinchenko delivery into his path.

2023 November 11, Matthew Howarth, “Arsenal 3-1 Burnley”, in BBC Sport:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, no, mistake.


too many chiefs and not enough Indians

too many chiefs and not enough indians (alternative)

[V]eterans attribute a lack of money and the consequent need to rely heavily on volunteers in scheduling and the poor advance work for the candidate's appearances. Some Democratic politicians have described the problem as a case of “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”

1970 October 24, Frank Lynn, “Goldberg ‘Kennedy Men’ Give State Party Rare Unity”, in New York Times, retrieved 2017-07-15:

Marks & Spencer's . . . top-heavy management has so much in common with the BBC, too many chiefs and not enough indians.

2004 April 14, Janet Street-Porter, “Dazed and confused by modern life”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 2017-07-15:

Too many leaders or managers and not enough people doing actual, useful work.

trop de chefs, pas assez d'indiens

too many leaders or managers and not enough people doing useful work


you must be new here

What would happen if you went to the soil and said, "Give me some fruit. Give me some plants"? The soil would probably respond, "Excuse me, sir, but you're a little confused. You must be new here. That's not the way the game is played."

1986, Anthony Robbins, Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement, Free Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 384:

Did you really think I wouldn't discuss the most important segment of the season before beginning with the rankings? You must be new here.

2009 November 9, Annie Barrett, “'Dancing With the Stars' recap: Period Pieces”, in Entertainment Weekly:

When a Turkish reporter, after yesterday's 2-1 U.S. Cup tune-up victory over Turkey, asked U.S. coach Bob Bradley to name his starting lineup for its tournament opener against England on June 12, a team publicist slyly remarked to the reporter: "You must be new here."

2010 May 29, John Jeansonne, “Questions remain for U.S. on eve of World Cup”, in Newsday:

Used to express (often sarcastically) that someone has in some way displayed their ignorance, unfamiliarity, or incompetence.


that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee

Implying that a dollar is the cost for the coffee, leaving the other item worthless.

So you can name all the Chinese provinces? That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.

(chiefly US) A comment used to imply that either previously stated information, an ability, or an item, are of no value.

that and a token will get you on the subway

that and twenty-five cents will get you a cup of coffee


that and twenty-five cents will get you a cup of coffee

that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee#English

Alternative form of that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.


any fule kno

From as any fule kno (misspelled form of as any fool knows), a catchphrase of fictional schoolboy Nigel Molesworth, subject of a series of books by Geoffrey Willans.

The Manoir is expensive, any fule kno that. But there is little point, judging from reports, in worrying what else you might have done with the £25 charged for a first course of wild salmon and caviare.

1995, Jim Ainsworth, Consumers' Association, Good Food Guide 1996, page 324:

Mow Cop is in Cheshire as any fule kno, but in the great tradition of smaller copies of greater buildings (vide Corris, Blackpool, Lichfield, Kiparrissia) there is a model sham ruin inspired by [it][…]

1999, Gwyn Headley, Wim Meulenkamp, Follies, grottoes & garden buildings, page 430:

Aside from the observation that, as any fule kno, rockets launch satellites, but themselves fall to earth, one wonders why this was ever considered to be helpful.

2003, Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, page 402:

(humorous) Any fool knows; it is well known.


present company excepted

Everybody it appears, the present company excepted, has plotted against Mrs Snagsby’s peace.

1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 54, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:

"I say, Reggie, old thing—present company excepted—have there been any loonies in your family?"

1920 March – 1921 February, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 26, in Indiscretions of Archie, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, publishers […], published 1921, →OCLC:

Am I glad we finally got rid of all those Klingons—er, present company excepted, of course.

1995 October 2, Ira Steven Behr, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, “The Way of the Warrior”, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4, episode 1, spoken by Quark:

Well, even Stanford guys aren't perfect (present company excepted, of course).

2009 December 2, Romesh Ratnesar, Bill Saporito, “How Will Tiger Woods' Apology Affect His Image?”, in Time:

(idiomatic) These negative remarks do not pertain to anyone who is currently listening to them (including the speaker).


present company excluded

present company excepted
present company excepted#English

Alternative form of present company excepted.


do you mind

Do you mind if I turn on the radio?

Do you mind coming into the office for a moment?

I'd like to borrow a plate. Do you mind?

Used to politely ask someone for a favor.

Do you mind? I'm trying to work here!

A rhetorical question used to inform someone that they are being intrusive or annoying.


don't knock it till you've tried it

don't knock it until you've tried it (alternative)

Brenda snagged an extra peeler from the drawer and sat at the table with Jill. “I don't know why anyone would want to live in New York City.” “Don't knock it till you've tried it, Brenda,” Carly said, adding a dash of salt to the Waldorf salad.

2014, Jamie Denton, Breaking the Rules, Harlequin, →ISBN:

That's right: peanut butter. I'm not going to get enthusiastic like some off-Broadway choreographer expostulating on sexual preferences—“don't knock it till you've tried it!”—but don't knock it till you've tried it. The Smokey Bar! calls it the PBJ for reasons that have nothing to do with jelly.

2020, Jason Peters, The Culinary Plagiarist: (Mis)Adventures of a Lusty, Thieving, God-Fearing Gourmand, Wipf and Stock, →ISBN:

(informal) One should not criticise or dismiss something before one has experienced it.


not the sharpest tool in the shed

not the sharpest tool in the shed US.ogg

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

1999, Greg Camp, “All Star”, in Astro Lounge, performed by Smash Mouth, Los Angeles: Interscope Records, track 2:

not the brightest bulb in the chandelier

(humorous, euphemistic) Lacking in intelligence; dimwitted.


DNAR

(medicine) Initialism of do not attempt to resuscitate.


it goes without saying

It is understood without being said (but will be or was said anyway).


SLBSTM

(Internet slang) Initialism of sounds like bullshit to me.


dogs bark

dogs bark (present participle dogs are barking)

A busy shift with no chance to sit down even once. My dogs are barking!

A busy shift with no chance to sit down even once. Boy are my dogs barking!

Feet hurt (are achy or in pain; usually from a lot of walking or other exertion).


you could have fooled me

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-you could have fooled me.wav

What you now tell me is true I thought was false, or I nonetheless think is false; I don't believe you.

ettet vain huijaa minua

what you now tell me is true I thought was false


could have fooled me

you could have fooled me
you could have fooled me#English

Alternative form of you could have fooled me.


no flies on

A litotes suggesting one is not torpid enough to have flies settle.

"You're jest about the very woman I'm looking for, miss. Lithe—that's what I call you. I kin put you in the way of making your pile, I kin. This is a bonâ-fide offer. No flies on my business!"

1899, Grant Allen, chapter 3, in Miss Cayley's Adventures:

I give you my word that there are no flies on his personal integrity, if that's what you mean.

1909, William Dean Howells, chapter 5, in A Hazard of New Fortunes:

"He knows what we want, you bet" he whispered. "No flies on that preacher. I like him. I like any man who can do things without a diagram and directions for using."

1914, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 13, in The Long Chance:

GERMAN. Wait! You are a young people.
AMERICAN. That is so; there are no flies on us.

1915, John Galsworthy, The Little Man, sc. 1:

"WestJet is tightly run, well managed, there are no flies on those guys," said Harry Gow, a board member of the Canadian Association of Airline Passengers.

2000 June 3, James Brooke, “A Budget Canadian Carrier Brings Back the Friendly Skies”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-10-31:

(idiomatic) No mental weaknesses, character defects, or other significant flaws belonging to.


first in, best dressed

(Australia) Those who arrive or get in sooner will receive a more desirable outcome.


the damage is done

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-the damage is done.wav

By the time Jack can get there it will be too late. The damage will have been done.

The harm has occurred, and nothing can be done to prevent it now; it might have been preventable, but cannot be prevented retroactively.

you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube


spring forward, fall back

/ˌspɹɪŋ ˈfɔːwəd ˌfɔːl ˈbæk/

/ˌspɹɪŋ ˈfɔɹwəɹd ˌfɔl ˈbæk/

A pun on spring (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life; (verb) to move or burst forth”) and fall (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions when the leaves typically fall from the trees; (verb) to move to a lower position under the effect of gravity”).

[I]f we have to standardize on one time period, it would seem eminently logical to settle on daylight time for the convenience of the greatest number of people. Besides, under such a system, we would once and for all abolish the trivial "Spring forward, fall back."

1971 October 28, Craig Hosmer, “Fiddling around with ‘God’s Time’”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 92d Congress, First Session (United States House of Representatives), volume 117, part 29, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38086, column 3:

I think it is important to remember the great push for year-round daylight saving time came as a result of the energy crisis of 1973. It was alleged this action would result in home heating, gasoline, and electricity savings and as a result the Congress got into the spring-forward, fall-back business of daylight saving time. Today, some 3 years later, we find no evidence of energy savings in the home, no effect on gasoline consumption, and that savings on electricity are not conclusive.

1976 June 9, Keith G[eorge] Sebelius, “Statement of Hon. Keith G. Sebelius, a Representative in Congress from the State of Kansas”, in Daylight Savings Time Act of 1976: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce of the [Committee] on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session on H.R. 13089, H.R. 13090 (and All Similar Bills), Bills to Amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to Change the Period of Observance of Daylight Savings Time: And S. 2931, a Bill to Provide for Daylight Saving Time on a Seven-month Basis, and to Require the Federal Communications Commission to Permit Certain Daytime Broadcast Stations to Operate before Local Sunrise […] (Serial No. 94-109), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 80:

The first Federal legislation on the matter was enacted during World War I with the passage of the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918. […] To conserve fuel and aid the war effort, the act also provided that the standard time of each zone would be advanced one hour for seven months of the year, beginning in early spring and ending in the fall. Thus developed the slogan still used today: "Spring forward; fall back."

1981 April, Philip R. Smith, “Daylight Saving? Well, It’s about … Time”, in Denise M. Gower, editor, DFSC Chronicle, Alexandria, Va.: Defense Fuel Supply Center, Defense Supply Agency, United States Department of Defense, →OCLC, page 27:

Twice a year, in April and October, most people change their clocks by one hour. Almost everyone forgets if the time needs to move forward or move backward. If you use the simple mnemonic, "Spring forward, fall back," you won't have to find out the hard way that you forgot to change your clock. This timely mnemonic links the season with the action of the same time: In the spring, the time springs forward by an hour. In the fall, time falls back by an hour.

2002, John B. Arden, “Tricking Yourself into Remembering”, in Improving Your Memory for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, part III (Preserving Your Memory):

I asked to speak to my mother again, and said, ‘Is it tonight we have to change the clocks?’ / She said that it was. / I asked if it was forwards or backwards; I can never remember which. / She said, ‘It’s easy: spring forward, fall back.’ / I said, ‘But do the clocks go backwards or forwards?’ / She said again, ‘Spring forward, fall back.’

2004, Sue Townsend, “Saturday March 29th [2003]”, in Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction, London: Michael Joseph, →ISBN, page 324:

Many areas of the world observe Daylight saving time. On a specified day in spring of each year, many people set their clocks forward by one hour. Then in the fall they set them back, leading to the clever saying, “spring forward, fall back.”

2011, Darrell Young, “Setup Menu”, in Mastering the Nikon D7000, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Rocky Nook; NikoniansPress, →ISBN, page 244:

This practice of taking the clock time forward during spring and backward during fall is known as daylight saving (DST). It is also implied by the popular notion Spring Forward, Fall Back, referring to the advancement of the clock during spring and the going back in time in fall. […] Since 2007, in the USA, the DST starts on the 2nd Sunday of March. On that day, the clocks are moved one hour forward at 2 a.m. local standard time. This means that 2 a.m., the clocks are manipulated to read 3 a.m. local daylight time. Again, DST ends on the 1st Sunday of November, when clocks are moved backward by one hour at 2 a.m. local daylight time. So, at 2 a.m., the clocks are changed to read 1 a.m. local standard time.

2023, Eklas Hossain, “Energy without the Sun”, in The Sun, Energy, and Climate Change, Cham, Zug, Switzerland: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, page 215:

daylight saving time
daylight saving time#English

(US, mnemonic) Used to recall how clocks, watches, and other chronometers are adjusted for daylight saving time: local time goes forward in the spring (usually by one hour), and back in fall (autumn).

kelloja siirretään kesää kohti

used to recall how clocks, etc., are adjusted for daylight saving time


B"H

(Judaism) b'ezrat hashem (Transliterated form of ב״ה, written at the top of documents).


BS"D

בס״ד בס״ד#Hebrew

(Judaism) besiyata dishmaya (Transliterated form of בס״ד, written at the top of documents).


IOOH

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of I'm out of here.


no soap

The phrase appears, with no clear meaning, in a 1755 Samuel Foote nonsense prose poem, "The Grand Panjandrum". In the U.S., soap took on the meaning of money (see OED), and so no soap was a denial of money, say in response to a request for some.

I went back down to the men's room on the second floor and yelled his name in front of the private apartments, but no soap.

1942, Rex Stout, Black Orchids, Farrar & Rinehart:

I waited for his assistance but it didn't come. He let me trail for I don't know how long. I hollered and cried, cursed, rocked the boat. No soap.

1953, Saul Bellow, chapter 25, in The Adventures of Augie March, New York: Viking Press, →OCLC:

I rang. Nothing happened. I rang again and leaned on it. No soap.

1973, Robert B. Parker, The Godwulf Manuscript, Houghton Mifflin:

Still and all, after weighing the pluses and minuses of Smooth's offer, he came, to the only possible conclusion for a civilized man—no soap.

1983 March, Bruce Jay Friedman, “Detroit Abe”, in Esquire:

And he tried again—Lou always persisted—but no soap.

1992, Richard Ben Cramer, What It Takes: The Way to the White House, Random House:

(idiomatic, slang, dated) It is (or was) a failure.


beg yours

(informal, Australia) pardon; could you repeat that?


life is short

One should make the most of one's life, as one never knows when one will die.


T.G.I.F.

thank God it's Friday
thank God it's Friday#English


LMVO

Variant of LMAO (“laughing my ass off”).

(Internet slang, text messaging, somewhat vulgar) Acronym of laughing my vagina off.


LMDO

(Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar) Laughing my dick off.


TYT

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of take your time.


et id genus omne

From Latin et id genus omne (“and all that sort”).


don't bite the newbie

JavaScript experts, please don't bite the newbies.

2009, Cody Lindley, jQuery Cookbook, O'Reilly Media, page 88:

Be patient and friendly toward people who are learning a new technology.


what do you want, a biscuit

Policeman: I've ascertained the time of death as 9:15.
Monkfish: Have you really? What do you want, a biscuit?

what do you want, a cookie?
what do you want, a cookie#English

(British, rare) Synonym of what do you want, a cookie?.


do want

(chiefly Internet slang) Used as an expression to indicate one's desire to have something.


head

with friends like these, who needs enemies?

/ˌwɪθ fɹɛn(d)z laɪk ðiːz ˌhu niːdz ˈɛnəmiːz/

The Yale Book of Quotations cites American comedian Joey Adams as the originator of this line.

Three years ago Elaine Noble came out to San Francisco and campaigned against Harvey Milk, at the behest of Foster and David Goodstein. These people now have the gall to take Harvey's name in vain. With "friends" like these, who needs enemies? Hypocrites!

1979 August 11, John Kyper, “Gay Shame!”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 4, page 5:

Indicating that one's close associates prove more adversarial than one's opponents.

indicating that one's close associates prove more adversarial than one's opponents

avec des amis comme ça, on n'a pas besoin d'ennemis

wer solche Freunde hat, braucht keine Feinde

com amigos assim, quem precisa de inimigos

con amigos así, ¿para qué quieres enemigos?

con amigos así, ¿para qué quiero enemigos?


with friends like those, who needs enemies?

with friends like these who needs enemies#English

Alternative form of with friends like these who needs enemies?.


off with someone's head

From the common use in past times of decapitation as a method of execution for prominent persons.

Some nerve! Off with their heads! shouted the master of ceremonies with mock ferocity, while the audience laughed.

"I see!" said the Queen, who had meanwhile been examining the roses. "Off with their heads!" and the procession moved on, three of the soldiers remaining behind to execute the unfortunate gardeners, who ran to Alice for protection. "You shan't be beheaded!" said Alice, and she put them into a large flower-pot that stood near.

1866, Lewis Carroll, “Chapter 8: The Queen's Croquet-Ground”, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland_(1866)/Chapter_8), Macmillan and Company:

(usually humorous) Used to express a desire to kill the person in question.


off with their head

off with someone's head
off with someone's head#English

Alternative form of off with someone's head.


LAGNAF

Then Spooge yelled, "LAGNAF!" just as we were walking by the girl's locker room!

LAGNAF

2012, Kansas Department of Revenue, The State of Kansas list of prohibited or banned personalized license plates, State of Kansas, page 12

Acronym of let's all get naked and fuck.


dafaq

‘…but did you ever listen to his speech?’ ‘Never! Thank god, I never listened to him that’s why am prospering…’ ‘dafaq… I expected this answer…come, we’ll go inside’

2018, Jonica E, The Uncut Broken Wings: A Matter of Living or Existing, New Delhi: Educreation Publishing, →ISBN, page 234:

“[…] She was so angry to see him taking her phone without her permission. I pulled him back and scolded for taking a girl’s phone like that. Later, they cooled her down, and we sat quite calm all through the journey.” “Hahaha! Who’s that stupid?” “A guy from our department.” “Hahaha! Dafaq! How could he take the phone to see photos? Won’t he have any sense?”

2018, Sasidhar Kareti, “The Goa Tour”, in Unconditional Uncommitted: Based on a True Story, Chennai: Notion Press, →ISBN:

God himself says he is not the author of confusion. So dafaq he's doing obscuring the gospel of Christ?

2020 February 9, LinuxGal, “I can tell you why Calvinists are liars.”, in alt.atheism (Usenet), archived from the original on 2025-05-02:

I hate you and what you’ve done. Our kin look at me like I might fuck an angel next. It’s embarrassing. You’re a skree. Look at you. What even are those clothes—are those angel clothes? Dafaq, Stantin?! You really just walked through the area in angel-fucking-clothes?!

2021, Ariana Nash, “Severn”, in Infernal Sin (Primal Sin; 3), US edition, Crazy Ace Publishing, →ISBN:


film at 11

"11" means 11 o'clock. This phrase originated from the U.S. television news broadcasting industry, where the late evening news is traditionally broadcast at 11 o'clock. In short promotional advertisements during primetime, announcers provided tantalizing bits of a story and end with the phrase as a teaser to encourage viewers to continue watching.

(historical) The video footage of a breaking news story will be screened later that evening.

The popcorn you're eating has been pissed in. Film at 11.

1977, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, The Kentucky Fried Movie:

More information will follow in the future.

Rich people consume more than poor people on an absolute basis, film at eleven.

2024 March 29, Patrick McKenzie, Anatomy of a credit card rewards program:

(sarcastically) This news story (etc) is unsurprising, typical, or should be obvious: more at eleven.

“I hope to see you tonight; tonight, I'm going to screen a film at 11 pm in the auditorium.”

2021 April 15, Rahul Kumar Gautam, SEEK & FIND, Blue Rose Publishers, page 91:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see film, at, 11.


NSS

no shit, Sherlock
no shit, Sherlock#English


right you are

“Just go!” yelled Mr Big. “And bring me back the booty. Or there will be trouble.”
“Right you are, guv’nor,” replied Fingers.

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(colloquial) OK, okey-dokey, acknowledgment that a request has been heard and understood.


ve haf vays of making you talk

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ve haf ways of making you talk.wav

A parody of archetypal German pronunciation of "We have ways of making you talk", coupled with the image of World War II-era interrogation. A comedic play on the phrase "We have ways to make men talk." from the 1935 movie The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.
Perhaps that 1935 line contributed to an even nearer version in the 1950 WWII film Odette. A Germanic interrogator (played by Guyri Wagner) tells an uncooperative Odette, “We have ways and means of making you talk.”

(humorous, informal) A catchphrase, usually delivered in a mock German accent, implying a threat of torture to extract information.


no win, no fee

I work on a no win, no fee basis.

(law, informal, chiefly attributive) conditional fee agreement, a form of lawsuit for which the hired legal representative charges no fees to the plaintiff if the plaintiff does not win.


and all this

She likes punk rock, screamo, death metal and all this.

(idiomatic, informal) Used at the end of a statement to insinuate that there is more information that can be inferred from the preceding.


ten points to Gryffindor

From the Harry Potter series, in which students of the magical school Hogwarts belong to four houses (Harry Potter belongs to Gryffindor), and earn or lose points for them based on their actions.

10 points to Gryffindor (alternative)
ten points for Gryffindor (alternative)

'Well, I'm assuming two things will happen. One, she'll try and kill me, two, you'll come down on her like a ton of bricks.'
'Ten points to Gryffindor,' said Gwen.

2008, James Goss, Torchwood: Almost Perfect, BBC Books, →ISBN, page 90:

“Yeah, sure. You know I can't stand the sight of blood, right?”
“Said no one ever while dating a vampire,” he quipped.
“Very clever. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

2013, Kristi Cook, Eternal, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 232:

Yeah, well he has a backpfeifengesicht (ten points to Gryffindor if you can pronounce this word), AKA: a face that deserves to be punched.

2013, Lara Hovsepian-Ruby, "Words That Should Be Part of the English Language", Caliber Magazine (University of California, Berkeley), Summer 2013, page 12

(humorous) Used to praise someone for a statement or action viewed as commendable.

Gryffindor
Harry Potter
Hogwarts
House system


10 points to Gryffindor

Ow! A touch, I do confess. 10 points to Gryffindor.

2001 December 4, Berry Kercheval, “Re: grepping grappa”, in ba.food (Usenet):

If you gathered that from the visual aids above, 10 points to Gryffindor! You are outstanding.

2013, Kathryn Cua, "Questions, Comments, Concerns", Devils' Advocate (Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, Illinois), Issue 6, 20 December 2013, page 8

(NYC cuisiniers were on this a year ago, so 10 points to Gryffindor.)

2014 February 17, Molly Mulshine, “French Chefs Really Wish You’d Stop Instagramming Their Meals Read”, in The New York Observer:

ten points to Gryffindor
ten points to Gryffindor#English

Alternative form of ten points to Gryffindor.


denial is not a river in Egypt

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-denial is not a river in Egypt.wav

denial ain't just a river in Egypt (alternative)
denial is not just a river in Egypt (alternative)
denial isn't just a river in Egypt (alternative)
denial isn't a river in Egypt (alternative)
denial ain't a river in Egypt (alternative)

“Denial is not a river in Egypt,” began the first orientation lecture I ever attended in rehab, “but a lot of people build themselves palatial, twelve-room houseboats and live there for years, maybe the rest of their entire, unhappy lives.”

2004, Bill Manville, Cool, Hip & Sober: 88 Ways to Beat Booze and Drugs, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN:

(humorous) Used to point out that somebody is in a state of psychological denial.


quelle surprise

Borrowed from French quelle surprise (“what a surprise”).

bor

My brother made the same mistake I did, but he didn't get punished: quelle surprise.


because reasons

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-because reasons.wav

Why would I change the syntax like that? Because reasons. Good or bad, what's done is done […]

2013 February 18, Steven D'Aprano, “Re: Differences creating tuples and collections.namedtuples”, in comp.lang.python (Usenet):

FW shoe-horned AM into Isstvan in HH2: Massacre, because reasons.

2013 October 25, Playa, “Re: [GW] Local Celebrity?”, in rec.games.miniatures.warhammer (Usenet):

HotKrust just got the Orlando Sentinel award for "best of Orlando" in some category, I think "lunch spot" or something.
At any rate, I've not eaten there but I plan to next time I'm in town.
Because reasons.

2014 January 13, TC10K, “Re: Best Places to eat in Orlando?”, in rec.roller-coaster (Usenet):

They couldn't restore his hand since because reasons!!! ...that's why. honest. It's actually that simple. see television doesn't have to explain itself.

2014 January 17, ultra.m...@hotmail.com, “Prime Technology Question”, in alt.toys.transformers (Usenet):

(Internet slang) for reasons that are tangential, dubious or unknown


more's the pity

Folks, however, cannot (and, alas, more's the pity!) eat and drink, and dance and sing, for ever.

(idiomatic) It is a pity; it is unfortunate.


what's the haps

(slang) What's happening?; what's up? (a greeting)


you're the doctor

(colloquial) Indicates that the speaker defers to the addressed person's authority or expertise.


LMGTFY

(Internet) Initialism of let me google that for you.


lunatics have taken over the asylum

head

(the) lunatics have taken over the asylum

En-au-lunatics have taken over the asylum.ogg

Said to originate in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United Artists. Perhaps an allusion to the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, first published 1845.

inmates running the asylum (alternative)
lunatics taking over the asylum (alternative)
inmates have taken over the asylum (alternative)
inmates taking over the asylum (alternative)
lunatics running the asylum (alternative)

Said of a situation in which those in charge are incapable of handling their responsibilities, and should rather be put under scrutiny themselves.


TFW

(Internet slang) Initialism of that feel/feeling when....


KMT

Alternative form: kmt

Abbreviations and codes, including that urban, youthful indication of frustration and discombobulation that caught [John] Humphrys' imagination; KMT – kissing my teeth.

[2013 November 10, Hugh Muir, “Explained: the art of 'kissing your teeth'”, in The Guardian:

kissing my teeth
kissing my teeth#English

(Internet slang, text messaging, Caribbean, MLE, MTE) Initialism of kissing my teeth: used to express disapproval, annoyance, or frustration.


fuck that noise

[…] And it's please and thank you and you gotta call the old man 'master.'”
“Fuck that noise!”

1977, Jake Logan, White Hell, Playboy Press, page 46:

“If you mean the Provincial Mental Hospital – yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about.”
“Fuck that noise. My Earl's not going anywhere near that place.”

1989, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Homesick, Emblem Editions, published 1999, →ISBN:

'You should always return calls as a courtesy.'
'Fuck that noise.'

2012, Cordelia Strube, Milosz, Coach House Books, →ISBN:

(US, Canada, slang, vulgar) Used to express rejection of or objection to something.


the grapes are sour anyway

Indicating that one despises what one cannot obtain.


your blood's worth bottling

(Australia) A statement of praise or admiration.


DNACPR

cardiopulmonary resuscitation
cardiopulmonary resuscitation#English

(medicine) Initialism of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation.


suck my dick

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-suck my dick.wav

(idiomatic, vulgar, offensive) Synonym of suck my cock.


suck my penis

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-suck my penis.wav


no more Mr Nice Guy

no more Mr. Nice Guy
no more Mr. Nice Guy#English

Alternative form of no more Mr. Nice Guy.


ROTMFFLMMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the motherfucking floor laughing my motherfucking ass off.


ROTMFFLMAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the motherfucking floor laughing my ass off.


ROTFLMMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the floor laughing my motherfucking ass off.


the lights are on, but nobody's home

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-the lights are on, but nobody's home.wav

(humorous) Somebody is conscious or paying attention, but failing to understand.


on like Donkey Kong

From the Nintendo video game gorilla-like character Donkey Kong, which is used in the phrase because of the character’s stereotypical strength and for the near-rhyme between on and Kong; likely influenced by the earlier construction in like Flynn.

It's on like Donkey Kong / You wanted that fast buck / Now I gotta light that ass up

1992 November 17, “Now I Gotta Wet ’Cha”, in The Predator, performed by Ice Cube:

If those four white police don't get hung, it's on again. It's on like Donkey Kong!

1993 February 16, John Wilder, “Gangs put L.A. on edge”, in USA Today:

Got it going on like Donkey Kong, and whoo-wee, shut my mouth, slap your grandma, there oughta be a law.

2005 October 3, Dallas Davidson, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”, in Songs About Me, performed by Trace Adkins:

It's going to be "on like Donkey Kong" when Food Network Star and local restaurant owner Guy Fieri comes to the 2007 California State Fair!

2007 August 1, “Food Network Star Guy Fieri to visit the 2007 State Fair!: Kids can vie for the chance to cook with Guy!”, in Business Wire, archived from the original on 2016-09-01:

I will politically haunt you for the biggest fumble in the history of San Francisco politics. It's on like Donkey Kong.

2011 January 4, Chris Daly, San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting

(chiefly US) An intensifier used in the same contexts as it's on, go on, and other expressions using the word on, but to express greater emphasis.


any more for any more

Originally used in the armed forces to ask whether anybody wanted further portions of food.

We've come up with three ideas so far. Any more for any more?

(idiomatic) Does anybody have, or want, any more?


you're good

(colloquial, chiefly Canada, US) It's OK; it's not a big deal.


T-minus

(aerospace) Specifies the remaining time until some future event such as a takeoff or encounter commences.


Lord knows

Lord knows, I can't change.

1974, Ronnie Van Zant et al., “Freebird”, in (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd):

My lover is dead, my property and his are gone lord knows where?

1991 August 10, Richard C. Engler, “Keep Writing Those Letters”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 4, page 3:


heaven only knows

1989, Paul Kennerley for Emmylou Harris's Bluebird, "Heaven Only Knows"
I guess that's how it's meant to be, but
Heaven only knows.

Alternative form of God knows, in sense of something unknown to mortal men.


Lord only knows

London has, heaven knows, enough homeless waifs, born the Lord only knows where, and brought up the Lord only knows how; but the London article is no more like the Parisian than chalk is like cheese.

1882, David Ross Locke, Nasby in Exile, xix. 287:


PTAL

software engineering
software engineering

(software engineering) Acronym of please take a look: please review and comment on the proposed change to software source code.


it's nothing

Used as a polite reply after being thanked


pot, meet kettle

In reference to the phrase pot calling the kettle black.

(informal, humorous) Used to draw attention to hypocrisy.


fans are slans

From slan and the novel Slan (1940) by A. E. Van Vogt. By analogy to the superior but persecuted mutants of Van Vogt's novel.

Under the title "Stfans -- Race of the Future", Joquel dissects the "fans are slans" theme which back in 1941 was being considered with a surprising amount of seriousness, and comes up with the obvious conclusion of phooey.

1950 March, F. Towner Laney, “Fanzine Scope”, in Spacewarp, number 36, pages 10–17:

FANS ARE SLANS Literally understood, "fans are superman mutants" -- or, at least, "fans are smarter than most people" -- but actual semantic content is according to the mood and attitude of the user.

1959, Richard "Dick" Harris Eney, Fancyclopedia II:

"Fans are slans" is a way of saying that we're smarter than other people. (Which is true, actually, but rather impolite to bring up in mixed company.)

2000 April 27, Pete McCutchen, “Re: Mr. Ordover, I disagree”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet), message-ID <4uvggsgbbt3gsqrobf2o1prj0offlhpuch@4ax.com>:

Fanish culture is very tribal in nature and overly concerned with superiority as fans are slans.

2003 November 8, Danny Low, “Re: Mundanes' secret weapon?”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <okbrqvghahmsaoc59jmjotlk60807s92i6@4ax.com>:

(dated, fandom slang) Science fiction fans are more intelligent and more creative than other people.


FIAWOL

(fandom slang, slogan, often humorous) Initialism of fandom is a way of life.


FIJAGH

FIJAGDH (alternative)
fijagh (alternative)
fijagdh (alternative)

(fandom slang, often humorous) Initialism of fandom is just a goddamn hobby.


am I right

amiright (alternative Internet)
amirite (alternative Internet)
am I right or am I right (alternative)

"Ah! So much the worse! A bitter taste it is that such poor cattle always have in their mouths, and hard lives they live, Jacques. Am I right, Jacques?"

1859, Charles Dickens, “Book the First, Chapter V”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:

Not a word out of him, he just sat there taking it all in, am I right? Look at their face and you don't know what's going on inside, am I right? Talking about racial overtones, whose insurance company does he think he's working for, am I right Dan?

"And life's short, paisan. I mean, life is short, am I right?"

I mean, you're paying for $24 billion worth of training, and I'm sure there's not a person here who could name 10, much less 150, of the separate training programs available. Am I right?

1993, Bill Clinton, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993, Bk. 2, August 1 to December 31, 1993, Government Printing Office, page 1467:

(colloquial, rhetorical question) Said by someone who has just stated what they consider to be an unassailable truth.


hiya doin'

Conflation of "hiya" and "how are you doing". Evolution was probably "how are you doing" → "how're you doin'" → "how're ya doin'" → "howya doin'", at which point "howya" was replaced/confused/conflated with "hiya", resulting in "hiya doin'". Compare to the development of goodbye, howdy-do. Also, compare howzit, whatcha doin'.

Ah, hello there, Frank!

"Hiya doin'?"

"I'm doing well. Yourself?"

(US, colloquial) A greeting. Tends to warrant a reply.


Ramadan mubarak

Arabic رَمَضَان مُبَارَك (ramaḍān mubārak)

uder

رَمَضَان مُبَارَك

An expression used during Ramadan to wish someone a happy time during the holiday.


Initial W from what + phonetic letter spellings U for you + Initial U for up + number 2 for to.

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of what are you up to?.


how's that

“Oh Dave, I'm so sorry.”
“How's that?”
“I said I'm sorry.”
“You'll have to speak up. I got more sirens going for me than London in the blitz.”

2014, Richard Curtis, Death In the Crease:

(cricket) Used to make an appeal to the umpire as to whether the batsman is out or not

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see how, is, that.


you'd better believe it

I got the job! You'd better believe it!


Bim, BEM, Bum

Clipping of bimbo + BEM (“Bug-Eyed Monster”) + bum (“incompetent man”). From a typical composition for the cover art of science fiction pulp magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, notably by artists such as Earle K. Bergey and Rudolph Belarski, featuring a woman (the "Bim") being attacked or threatened by a monster (the "BEM"), while a man (the "Bum") protects her and/or attacks the monster.

(fandom slang, art) Retro art composition; composition stereotypical of the cover art of mid-20th-century science fiction pulp magazines.

Earle K. Bergey
Thrilling Wonder Stories


more than someone has had hot dinners

She's had more boyfriends than you've had hot dinners!

食鹽多過食米

(Cantonese) to be experienced; to have eaten more salt than (you) have eaten rice


you're all right

Alternative form: you're alright

Would you like another pint, mate?
Nah, you're all right.

(UK, informal) Used to politely reject an offer.


go on then

- Would you like another pint, mate?

- Yeah, go on then.

- I'm going to go and ask her on a date.

- Go on then.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go on, then. (proceed)


two tears in a bucket

Two Tears in a Bucket Award—Judi Killion

[1966, “Awards of Dubious Achievement”, in The Eagle, page 189:

Hank begins to protest, but William interrupts with, “That’s just two tears in a bucket, so motherfuck it!”

2001, Lisa M. Tillmann-Healy, Between Gay and Straight: Understanding Friendship Across Sexual Orientation, Rowman Altamira, →ISBN, page 143:

Even if he offends you personally, two tears in a bucket, fuck it.

2002, Lawrence Q. Markx, Evidence of a Cluttered Mind...: The New Testament, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 153:

But then my mind said, Hold up, I’ll bet those titties are going to fall down to the ground. Oh well, two tears in a bucket, I’m still gonna fuck it.

2011, M. A. Harris, I Cry Sometimes, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 38:

used to express acceptance of misfortune


it's not even funny

it's not funny (alternative)
it isn't even funny (alternative)
it isn't funny (alternative)
it is not even funny (alternative)
it is not funny (alternative)

Women's colleges have so much to offer it's not even funny.

2000, Loren Pope, Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know about Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student, page 86:

I'm impressed with him on so many different levels it's not even funny.

2007, Dave Batista, Batista Unleashed, page 114:

We're so far from the head table that it's not even funny!

2014, Lynne D'Amico, Force of Mind, Song of Heart, page 61:

(informal) Used to indicate that a person, thing, or situation possesses a described characteristic to an extreme or unusual degree.


it's not funny

it's not even funny
it's not even funny#English

Alternative form of it's not even funny.


Shabbat shalom

Borrowed from Hebrew שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם (shabát shalóm).

bor

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם

Used to express good wishes on or before the Jewish sabbath.

安息日平安

good wishes at Jewish sabbath / lit.: peace on the Sabbath


if ever there was one

if ever there were one (alternative)
if ever there were some (alternative)
if there ever was one (alternative)
if there ever were one (alternative)
if I ever saw one (alternative)
if I've ever seen one (alternative)

He's a plagiarist if ever there was one.

Used to emphasize the truth of a characterization.


ROFLMMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the floor laughing my motherfucking ass off.


you'll get yours

what is coming to you
get what's coming to one

You will get what you deserve, or what is coming to you. Said confrontationally as a prediction implying eventual vindication of the speaker and eventual comeuppance for the hearer; also sometimes used as a threat.


absit invidia

From Latin. As found, for example, in Livy, Ab Urbe Condita Book IX, Chapter 19, line 15.

absit invidia verbo (alternative)
verbo absit invidia (alternative)

1656 (N.S.), George Davenport, The Letters of George Davenport, 1651-1677 2011 publication
I long as old Eli did (verbo absit invidia) to hear what is become of the ark; but fear I shall not hear what I desire, and my answer shall be with the daughter in law translata est gloria Dei de—.
Comment: "Translata est gloria Dei de ..." is a slight paraphrase from 1 Samuel 4:22.

What most evidently prevailed, absit invidia, and what betrayed her into all the Chesterfieldian indecorums of laughter, was his addressing her in Irish.

1778, Thomas Campbell, “Letter XXXI”, in A Philosophical Survey of the South of Ireland: In a Series of Letters to John Watkinson, M.D., page 291:

I have done with the Oxford Bacons : only let me add, that those of Cambridge, father and son, Nicholas and Francis, the one of Bene't, and the other of Trinity-College, do hold (absit invidia ! ) the scales of desert, even against all of their name in all of the world besides.

1842, Thomas Fuller, The Church History of Britain, from the Birth of Jesus Christ Until the Year MDCXLVIII (James Nichols, London, 3rd edition) p.401

Literally, "may envy be lacking (from my words)".


the handbags come out

Coined 2004, circa March 2nd, by Jeremy St. Louis on the radio show Fox Sports World Report. From women hitting each other with handbags during a catfight; compare earlier handbags, handbags at dawn.

"I'm ready to take the blame for all the problems of English football, if that is what he wants."
The handbags come out early doors when Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger responds to Ferguson's dig about the Gunners' foreign contingent.

2008, Chris Charles, BBC Sport, 12 May 2008, “Premier League quotes of the season”

The handbags have come out after a diplomatic argument between Israel and Brazil got, well, very personal.

2014, Oliver Wheaton, Metro, 26 Jul 2014, “Handbags: Israel has dig at Brazil’s 7-1 World Cup defeat after diplomatic row over Gaza bombing”

(UK, idiomatic, soccer, rare) A row intensifies; a dispute becomes heated.


shavua tov

From Hebrew שבוע טוב (shavúa tov, “good week”), from Yiddish אַ גוטע וואָך (a gute vokh).

der

אַ גוטע וואָך

Used Saturday night through Sunday (and sometimes later) to express good wishes for the coming week following the Jewish sabbath.

shavua tov

good wishes for the week following the Jewish sabbath


ROFLMGDMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the floor laughing my goddamned motherfucking ass off.


ROFLMMFGDAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of roll on the floor laughing my motherfucking goddamned ass off.


ROMFFLMMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of roll on the motherfucking floor laughing my motherfucking ass off.


ROTFLMGDMFAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the floor laughing my goddamned motherfucking ass/arse off.


ROTFLMMFGDAO

(Internet slang, vulgar) Initialism of rolling on the floor laughing my motherfucking goddamned ass/arse off.


you beauty

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

(Australian rules football) An exclamation of joy or enthusiasm, often said in response to a player taking a specky or kicking a great goal.

(UK, Australia, by extension) A general exclamation of happiness and joy.


no harm done

Well, you painted my room the wrong shade of blue, but (there was) no harm done really.

Used to express that someone's action had no serious adverse consequences.


not to worry

The origin of the phrase is unknown. According to Partridge’s Dictionary of Catch Phrases the idiom dates from the mid-1930s with a surge in 1957–8.

She didn't catch this train, but not to worry: she can get the next one.

For those whose economic outlook may be summarised in that hackneyed expression "Not to worry," then the latest figures could be interpreted as conducive to that conviction.

1958, The Shipbuilder and Marine Engine-builder, volume 65, Shipbuilder Press, page 371:

Flynn: Not to worry. They'll get back before Sergeant Walker pays his visit. You'll be O.K.

1965, Plays and Players, volume 13, Hansom Books:

Still under the influence of "Havoline" and Demerol, I was drifting in and out of never-never land when a nurse came hurrying in and said, "Not to worry! You have some irregularities. We are going to give you a bolus of lidocaine, and it will all straighten out."

1986, Robert DeBellis, Suffering: Psychological and Social Aspects in Loss, Grief, and Care, Psychology Press:

There is no need for concern; there isn't a serious problem.


yes and no

Is she happy? — Yes and no, hard to say.

Have you been to Paris? — Yes and no. I've been to the airport, but didn't get to see the city.

An answer in reply to a yes-no question, indicating there is no simple "yes" or "no" answer

نَعْم وَلَا

You can only use yes and no answers.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see yes, and, no.


tomato, tomato

/təˈmeɪtoʊ təˈmɑːtəʊ/

tomayto, tomahto
tomayto, tomahto#English

Alternative spelling of tomayto, tomahto.


so quiet one can hear a pin drop

one could hear a pin drop
one could hear a pin drop#English

Alternative form of one could hear a pin drop.


same old

same old same old
same old same old#English


cukup

From Malay cukup (“enough”), coined by e-sports athletes in Malaysia and Singapore when competing with each other in e-sports matches.

(video games, Malaysia, Singapore) Abbreviation of choose your kit and level up or choose your kit and upgrade.


wbu

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of what about you?.


not know one is born

"The trouble with workers to-day," he said, "is that they don't know they're born."

"One bad night and you think you're starving! You don't know you're born!"

To be spoiled; to have an easy life without appreciating it.


js

(text messaging) Acronym of just saying.


KYC

At this level, global mobility for VIPs should require an awful lot of KYC—short for “Know your client”, which can refer to a litany of identity and anti-money laundering checks—cautions Gavin Ball.

2023 October 28, Mark Ellwood, “From utility bills to Aston Martins”, in FT Weekend, House & Home, page 2:

(business) Initialism of know your customer/client.


sic semper tyrannis

From the Latin sīc semper tyrannīs (“thus always to tyrants”). While the line is sometimes said to have been uttered by Brutus after he assassinated Julius Caesar, the utterance itself is recorded in no ancient sources and appears to be a modern invention. It is probably a Latin translation by the US Founding Father George Wythe of what Tiberius Gracchus' grandfather, the general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus, said when he heard of the assassination of his grandson. According to Plutarch (21.4), he reacted by quoting Homer's Odyssey (1.47): ὡς ἀπόλοιτο καὶ ἄλλος, ὅτις τοιαῦτά γε ῥέζοι (And so perish all who do the same). This etymology is presented by Mike Fontaine, though he mentions both Wythe and George Mason as possible translators, which is very unlikely since Wythe is famous as a Classicist whereas there is no recorded mention of Mason's knowledge of Greek.

Thus always to tyrants; tyrannical leaders will inevitably be overthrown.

George Mason
George Wythe
John Wilkes Booth
Julius Caesar
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
Tiberius Gracchus


fiat lux

From Latin fīat lūx (“let there be light”).

Let there be light, especially in the context of light being a metaphor for wisdom.


head

Described as early as 1977 as Black American slang constituting a "nasty command to leave, euphemism of 'split you' avoiding profanity." The phrase "where the good Lord split you" describes the gluteal cleft.

If you want a ride, you let the doorknob hit you where the good lord split you.

1991, Dorothy Abbott, Mississippi Writers: Poetry, page 343:

I knew this one guy who said that I could date him as long as I promised him that I would give up my dog and my white cane—I told him, “don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.”

2013, Alice Crespo, Never Be Discouraged, page 74:

I need a man around me who's smart as me or smarter. And if you ain't, then get outta that chair. And let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.

2014, Samuel G. Freedman, Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football, page 31:

don't let the door hit you on the way out#English

Synonym of don't let the door hit you on the way out.


HCF

Halt and Catch Fire
w:Halt and Catch Fire (computing)

(computing, humorous) Initialism of Halt and Catch Fire (an instruction that locks up a processor).


sorry, not sorry

sorry not sorry (alternative)
sorry-not-sorry (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sorry, not sorry.wav

I can't keep sleeping with you if we can't even cuddle afterwards. Sorry not sorry.

2012, "Pirate Rants", The East Carolinian (East Carolina University), Volume 87, Issue 144, 29 November 2012, page 83

Sorry not sorry, but a PhD doesn't mean that someone is truly qualified to teach.

2013, Stephanie Schoch, "Getting a PhD in teaching doesn't make you a teacher", Grand Valley Lanthorn (Grand Valley State University), Volume 47, Number 41, 4 February 2013, page A4

At least the whole album is consistent. It may be consistently bad, but it's still consistent. Sorry, not sorry.

2014 February, Paul Michael Armstrong, “Ear Candy”, in Gag, volume 1, number 3, page 66:

(slang) Used to sarcastically express a lack of guilt over an action or statement.


sorry not sorry

sorry, not sorry
sorry, not sorry#English


hit me

(blackjack, slang) Said by a player to ask the dealer to deal them another card.

He went in and sat on an empty stool at the bar. “Angel, hit me with a shot of whiskey,” he said without preamble. What the hell was the point of trying to straighten out a life when it got you nothing? Angel set the drink in front of him.

2011, Mary Sullivan, Beyond Ordinary, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 98:

Halfway to the bar he called out, “Hola, amigos!” And to the bartender: “Señor, hit me with a Cutty Sark on the rocks.”

2011, Cooper, The Queen's Assassin, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 6:

“Hit me again, Albert,” Eric said, slamming his shot glass on the bar and digging in his pocket for money.

2012, Gloria Taylor Weinberg, A Homicide in Hooker's Point, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 70:

(slang) Give me a (usually alcoholic) beverage.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hit, me.


please excuse my dear Aunt Sally

order of operations
order of operations#English

(mathematics) A mnemonic used to help people remember the order of operations, in the PEMDAS order.


as the next guy

as the next girl (alternative)
as the next person (alternative)

I like reading as much as the next guy.

I'm as friendly as the next guy.

(idiomatic) To a reasonable degree; as much as a typical person or man.


as the next girl

as the next guy (alternative)
as the next person (alternative)

I like reading as much as the next girl.

I'm as friendly as the next girl.

(idiomatic) To a reasonable degree; as much as a typical woman.


TGIAF

Initialism of thank God it's almost Friday.

Initialism of thank goodness it's almost Friday.


TFAE

(mathematics) Initialism of the following are equivalent; placed before a sequence of statements to mean that any one of the statements implies and is implied by any of the others.


what about the children

think of the children
think of the children#English

Alternative form of think of the children.


tanstaafl

Hadn't realized “Free Luna” was going to have taxes. Hadn't had any before and got along. You paid for what you got. Tanstaafl. How else?

1966, Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress:

Alternative letter-case form of TANSTAAFL.


DAE

DAE think we should post a regular link to the FAQ?

2010 December 11, jvg, “DAE not really care about the oval?”, in hfx.general (Usenet):

(Internet slang) Initialism of does anyone/anybody else...?.


ay up me duck

(chiefly Midlands, informal) A generic greeting.


DYOFDW

(Internet slang) Initialism of do your own fucking dirty work.


excuse you

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-excuse you.wav

By analogy with excuse me, which is used to apologize. First appears in the late twentieth century.

He raised his brows, 'Excuse me, or should I say, excuse you?'

1996, Vickie Moore, This Time Forever, page 123:

Excuse you, you're in my way.

2000, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith, Legally Blonde:

Finally, the girl managed to utter, “Well, excuse you,” and turned to leave. George fumbled for words. “Wait. Don't go,” he pleaded. “Please, allow me to apologize. Can I, uh... buy you a Coke, or something?”

2007, Gary Smiley, Seasons of Liberty, page 19:

(US, Canada, derogatory, often sarcastic) An indignant response to an individual who has behaved rudely or insolently and has failed to apologize.


seq.

Alternative form of et seq.: and following.


alright me babber

(West Country, Bristol, informal) A generic greeting.


alright my babber

alright me babber
alright me babber#English

(West Country, Bristol, informal) Alternative form of alright me babber.


alright me lover

(West Country, informal) A generic greeting.


alright my lover

alright me lover
alright me lover#English

(West Country, informal) Alternative form of alright me lover.


how bist

(UK dialect, West Country and West Midlands, informal) How are you? (greeting)


IAMFI

Initialism of I ask merely for information.


dot or feather

A reference to the bindi and the feathered war bonnet. First attested in a 1993 Vanity Fair article, where it is attributed to Gita Mehta.

dots, not feathers (alternative)
red dot or feather (alternative)

Oddly, the only bons mots that this crowd can recall all have to do with India: Kenneth Jay Lane cites her “Indian? Dot or feather?” and others come up with puns about Chutney Marys and Chutney Miras or quick jokes about pujas.

1993 May, Joan Juliet Buck, “A Mehta of Style”, in Vanity Fair, page 162:

Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent#English

(US, offensive) Used to inquire whether a person described as "Indian" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent.


mercy buckets

Jocular malapropism (or phono-semantic matching) of French merci beaucoup (“thanks a lot”); influenced by buckets of (“lots of”).

"Well, anyhow, thanks a lot, Mr. Dumont," he added. "Mercy buckets, as you French say."

1929 "Franklin W. Dixon" (Penguin) Hardy Boys 7: The Secret of the Caves, Chapter 16, p.89

Mercy buckets—a pleasure doing business with you, dude.

2008 Jonathan Nasaw (Simon and Schuster) Fear Itself p.187


rien ne va plus

/ɹɪˈã nə vɑː ˈpluː/

Borrowed from French rien ne va plus (literally “nothing goes any more”). In use since mid 19th century.

bor

(gambling) In roulette, an announcement made by the croupier while the wheel is spinning and no more bets can be placed.


don't sweat it

(colloquial, idiomatic) Do not worry about it.


do me a favour

Could you possibly do me a favour and pass me that newspaper?

Do me a favour and shut up.

(literally) Used to ask someone for a favour (may be polite or sarcastic).

You expect me to clean up all this mess for you? Do me a favour.

Debbie remained seated. "Go to bed," she ordered.
"With you here? Why what do you think I'll do, cut my throat with an electric razor? I know this dump's enough to drive anybody nuts but do me a favour."

2012, Keith Blackburn, Changes in a Landscape, page 134:


win some, lose some

you win some, you lose some
you win some, you lose some#English

Alternative form of you win some, you lose some.


happy Hanukkah

happy Hanukkah ! (canonical)
happy Chanukah (alternative)
happy Hanukah (alternative)

Used to express good wishes on or before Hanukkah.


it's all Chinese to me

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-it's all Chinese to me.wav

it's all Greek to me
it's all Greek to me#English


the coast is clear

Wait there, watch the back of the building, and whistle when the coast is clear.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Tarzan stepped into the darkened entrance […]

1921, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan the Terrible, Grosset & Dunlap, page 222:

Sometimes Dorothy herself left me. She had plenty of friends in the studio, and would slip away for a chat when the coast seemed clear.

1945, Christopher Isherwood, Prater Violet, New York: Random House, published [1956], →LCCN, page 94:

(idiomatic) There is no danger; one can freely pass through a region without risk of discovery.


comedy equals tragedy plus time

A tragic subject can be made into a comedy, given the passage of enough time.


put him in to get him out

Coined by Irish revolutionary Michael Collins.

coin

(Ireland, politics, historical) An election poster catchphrase, and rallying cry, for imprisoned Republicans to be elected to parliament.


HFR

(journalism) Initialism of hold for release.


head

check yourself before you wreck yourself

Chosen for the rhyme. Cliche made popularized by the song "Check Yo Self" (1993) by hip hop artist Ice Cube. Older sources include Dion's Song "Two Ton Feather" (1966) with the lyric "Check yourself, don't wreck yourself."

(colloquial) Consider the consequences of your actions before you end up in trouble.


what are you waiting for

(rhetorical question) What is the delay? Why are you not acting or proceeding?


how the mighty have fallen

The phrase originates in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 1:19. The earliest version in English is found in the Great Bible, (1539): Oh howe are the myghtie ouerthrowen. The modern word fallen version is found in the King James Version, (1611) and is an expression of David's lament over Saul and Jonathan: The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

Used to imply the decline of a once-great person or entity.

the bigger they are, the harder they fall


here today, gone tomorrow

Things are fleeting; something that is ubiquitous or popular at one point is soon forgotten.


CPCTC

(geometry) Initialism of corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent, a theorem regarding congruent triangles, stating that if two or more triangles are proven congruent by any method, then all of their corresponding angles and sides are congruent as well.


CPCFC

(geometry) Initialism of corresponding parts of congruent forms are congruent.


couldn't pour water out of a boot

couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery#English

Synonym of couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.


couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery


couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel


TIAS

(Internet, text messaging) Initialism of try it and see.


IMNAAHO

IMNAAHO (In my not at all humble opinion) I feel that anybody who passes their judgement on others without considering that person's context is acting in most heinously ethnocentric (anthro term) fashion.

1991 September 14, Brian A. Bargmeyer, “Re: Drugs and kids -- the neverending flame-fest”, in alt.drugs (Usenet):

_Earth_ is possibly my least favorite Brin novel (though _The Practice Effect_ probably edges it out...)- it really didn't do much for me. There were some interesting ideas there, but it just didn't click, IMNAAHO.

1995 October 30, Chad R Orzel, “Re: David Brin: Recommendations?”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet):

People who want to control who you talk to are *not* suitable relationship material, IMNAAHO.

1999 September 8, maenad [username], “Re: To A. Stone from Julyana...”, in alt.callahans (Usenet):

(Internet slang, text messaging, humorous) Initialism of in my not at all humble opinion.


never fear

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see never, fear.

Jokai, Maurus (2006) Doctor Dumany's Wife, →ISBN, page 89: “"But, my dear uncle, this would not be wise. Such a change would absolutely kill you."
"Tut! tut! Never fear! I am sure of the one year, and am not going to bargain with Death for more. [...] "”


the show must go on

Originated in the 19th-century circus industry.

Two other very personal issues that Holly discloses are her ongoing struggle to maintain a weight she feels comfortable with, and her virtual breakdown from exhaustion in 1984. Her "the show must go on" martyrdom attitude was painful to read, for her stress-related problems demonstrate the irony that idealistic activists often live exactly the overworked, underpaid life they are hoping to end for everyone.

1990 December 9, Maida Tilchen, “Closer To Near”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 14:

(literally, theater) Regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons.

(idiomatic) One must finish what one has started; things must continue no matter what.


not as green as one is cabbage-looking

(informal, simile) Not as naive or foolish as might be expected.


long story

說來話長 /说来话长

situation is too complicated to talk about

A situation that is too complicated or extensive to talk about.

A situation that is too embarrassing to talk about.


if I had a nickel for every time

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been fired, I'd be rich.

Implies that the situation has happened frequently to the speaker.

Als ik een stuiver kreeg voor iedere keer


every good boy deserves favour

every good boy deserves fudge
every good boy deserves fudge#English

Alternative form of every good boy deserves fudge.


IDBI

(Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of I don't believe it.

Industrial Development Bank of India
w:Industrial Development Bank of India

(India) Initialism of Industrial Development Bank of India.


surf's up

Originally used in surfing to say there are good waves for surfing and one should get ready to ride them. This likely resulted in the later idiomatic use: to get ready for something.

A phrase used in surfing when a nearby wave is passing.

Yo, Harold! Surf's up! Those cars aren't going to wash themselves!

(idiomatic) It's time (to do something).


easy for you to say

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-easy for you to say.wav

Easy for you to say after I've wasted my years in sacrifice.

1972, Maurice J. Hill, Large Window on a Small World: A Play, →ISBN, page 60:

That's easy for you to say. You're not the one who's flying.

2010, Janet Asimov, Isaac Asimov, Norby the Mixed-Up Robot, →ISBN, page 81:

That's easy for you to say. You haven't had your dreams crushed like I have.

2011, Jeff Hutchison, Emmanuel Book One: Out of the Shadow, →ISBN, page 56:

You may say, “That's easy for you to say. You are not in my situation.”

2012, Sarah Kennedy, Keith Conrad, Turning Black and White into Gray: Mood Disorders, →ISBN:

Requiring little effort or sacrifice on your part, with the implication that it is or has been more difficult for others.

- It's called "staphylococcus".
- Easy for you to say!

(humorous) Said when somebody says something that is difficult to pronounce.


change sides, change signs

(algebra, mnemonic) An acronym to help remember that when a value is moved to the opposite side of the equals sign, then the operator is changed also.


the cat's out of the bag

(idiomatic) It is too late. Particularly used of secrets that have been exposed.


LMBO

Variant of LMAO (“laughing my ass off”).

(Internet slang) Initialism of laughing my butt/bollocks/bum/balls off, used to indicate great amusement.


more than meets the eye

Rock and roll can never die / There's more to the picture than meets the eye

1979, Neil Young, “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)”, in Rust Never Sleeps, performed by Neil Young and Crazy Horse:

(idiomatic) More than what is apparent or readily noticeable.

piillä jotain (verb with subject in the inessive case: to be more than meets the eye)