'A Phrase A Week' is a free service. Each week, I e-mail an explanation of the origin of a commonly-used English phrase or saying.

The origins of phrases are researched continuously and published in this site's idioms and phrases section. Here are some recent additions:

Out of sorts
Pull out all the stops
Sir Walter Scott
Peter out
Raze to the ground
In a pickle
A red rag to a bull
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink
Namby-pamby
Sleep tight
Bring home the bacon
A pig in a poke
Full to the gunwales
Toffee-nosed
Hobby-horse
If it ain't broke, don't fix it (this phrase can be discussed at our FaceBook Group)
Without so much as a by your leave (FaceBook)
On the ball (FaceBook)

archived posts...

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