Wanna know origins of...

Posted by Billoud Nicolas on January 27, 2002

Can I trouble you to give me the origins of the following expressions: "to be caught red-handed"
"shaggy-dog story"
"to cudgel one's brains"
"to have a whale of a time"
"as dull as a ditch-water"
"as red as a turkey-cock"
"to knock someone sideways"
"topsy-turvy"
"mealy-mouthed"
"the rag-tag and bobtail(of sth)"
"the down-and-outs"
"a smash-and-grab"
"clap-trap"
"a chicken-and-egg situation"
"a moth-eaten idea"
"to be all keyed up"
"a rag-and-bone man"
"a holier-than-though attitude"
"to be nail-fellow-well-met"
"a devil-may-care manner"
"a hole-in-the-corner affair"
"a cock-and-bull story"
"to get down to the nitty-gritty"
"to give someone the heebie-jeebies"
"to upset someone's apple-cart"
"to be someone's blue-eyed boy"
"to be bone-headed from the neck up"
"a Jekyll-and-Hyde team"
"a Johnny-come-lately convent"
"to grin and bear it"
"that's torn it"
"to have it both ways"

• Hail, fellow, well met R. Berg 01/27/02
• wanna know origins of... Gary Martin 01/27/02
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