We use the phrase ‘life is just a bowl of cherries‘ (the word just is optional) is used to mean that everything is going well and life is full of pleasure and joy. Cherries are certainly a tasty treat but there is no particular reason why cherries were chosen for this simile instead of any … Read more
To earmark something, often used in reference to monetary funds, means to keep or designate it for a certain purpose. For example, a company might earmark certain funds for advertising. The term earmark has been in use since at least the 1570s. It originally, and still does, refer to a distinguishing mark on an animal. … Read more
To stew in your own juice means to think about or suffer the consequences of your actions without anyone giving your any help. . The phrase is said to have been popularized by Otto Von Bismarck, a canceller of the German Empire during the nineteenth century. Bismarck is said to have used the phrase during … Read more
Abecedarian is an archaic and extinct English word that began being used during the 1600s. See if you can guess the etymology of this unusual English word after learning the meaning. Abecedarian Meaning Abecedarian (noun): 1. person or book that teaches the alphabet 2. someone learning the alphabet 3. of or relating to the alphabet … Read more
When we were kids, each of us wanted to sit in the front seat of the car, next to the driver. The traditional way of getting access to this seat so you didn’t have to sit in the back seat was to call shotgun before anyone else could. Shotgun, we’d shout. Then, once we were … Read more
Want to see more videos from Idioms.Online? Subscribe to our YouTube channel! If a person or a group of people boycott a business, organization, country, etc. they refuse to have any involvement with it in order to show their disapproval and to force a change in policy, habits, attitude, etc. To boycott a business is … Read more
To invent, in English, means to design or create something that has never been made before or to make up an idea, story, name, false fact, etc. for the purpose of deception. However, invent, originally, meant ‘find.’ Etymology of Invent Invent was originally based on the past-participial stem of the Latin word invenīre, inventus. Invenīre … Read more
The word boulder in English, refers to a very large rock or stone, typically one that has been worn and rounded over many years by the weather. Although any stone large than ten inches in diameter might be called a boulder, they are typically considered to be stones too large for a person to move single-handedly. … Read more
On a roll is a slangy expression that has been used since around the 1970s, especially to describe being on a ‘winning streak.’ It seems to allude to the idea that an object that is rolling will continue to roll because of its momentum. Thus, if someone is on a roll, not only are they … Read more