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Harry Oliver. Bees Knees and Barmy Armies - Origins of the Words and Phrases we Use Every Day
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: FOOD AND DRINK
FOOD AND DRINK. Alcohol
Blowout
Different Kettle of Fish
Grocer
Hooch
Ice-cream Sundae
Lager
Lollipop
Tumbler
Welsh Rabbit/Rarebit
Whole Shebang
CHAPTER TWO: MILITARY
MILITARY. Big Shot
Braille
Fifth Column
Go Off Half-cocked
Gung Ho
Hit the Ground Running
Knock into a Cocked Hat
Stick to Your Guns
Use Your Loaf
CHAPTER THREE: ANIMALS AND NATURE
ANIMALS AND NATURE. Bat out of Hell
Bats in Your Belfry
Bee in Your Bonnet
Bee’s Knees
Bête Noire
Birds and the Bees
Black Sheep
Bolt from the Blue
Bull in a China Shop
Butterfly
Cat and Mouse
Cook Your Goose
Curiosity Killed the Cat
Draw in Your Horns
Drop like Flies
Eager Beaver
Grin like a Cheshire Cat
Have a Gander
High Horse
Hold Your Horses
In the Doghouse
Jinx
Keep the Wolf from the Door
Lame Duck
Lead by the Nose
Lion’s Share
More than You Can Shake a Stick at
Neither Hide nor Hair
One-horse Town
Swan Song
Take the Bull by the Horns
Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail
Until the Cows Come Home
CHAPTER FOUR: SPORTS AND GAMES
SPORTS AND GAMES. Aid and Abet
Barmy Army
Behind the Eight Ball
Below the Belt
The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall
Checkmate
Gymnastics
Have a Hunch
Palm Off
Steeplechase
Under the Wire
CHAPTER FIVE: POLITICS
POLITICS. Bite the Hand that Feeds You
Blood, Sweat and Tears
CHAPTER SIX: SARTORIAL MATTERS
SARTORIAL MATTERS. Best Bib and Tucker
Dressed to the Nines
Dungarees
Keep It Under Your Hat
Laugh in Your Sleeve
Strait-laced
Too Big for Your Boots … and Your Breeches
CHAPTER SEVEN: BUSINESS AND MONEY
BUSINESS AND MONEY. Bankrupt
Blackmail
Feather Your Nest
Filthy Lucre
CHAPTER EIGHT: FALSE FRIENDS
FALSE FRIENDS. Idiot
Lush
Philander
Snob
Windfall
CHAPTER NINE: LAW AND ORDER
LAW AND ORDER. Caught Red-handed
Hang, Draw and Quarter
Hue and Cry
Real Estate
CHAPTER TEN: ANCIENT TIMES
ANCIENT TIMES. Amethyst
Beside Himself
Call a Spade a Spade
Kowtow
Learn by Heart
Naked Truth
Many a Slip between Cup and Lip
Quintessence
Right Foot Foremost
Tantalise
Vandal
Wrong Side of Bed
CHAPTER ELEVEN: MIND AND BODY
MIND AND BODY. Blow Hot and Cold
Cheek by Jowl
Cool Your Heels
Fingers Crossed
Get Your Back Up
Hand in Glove
In One Ear and Out the Other
Lie Through Your Teeth
Make Your Hair Stand on End
Mesmerise
Mouth-watering
Not Turn a Hair
Put Your Foot in it
Split Hairs
Stab in the Back
Stick Your Neck Out
Tail Between Your Legs
CHAPTER TWELVE: PLACES
PLACES. Bohemian
Bring Owls to Athens
Carry Coals to Newcastle
Iron Curtain
Spruce Up
Stamping/Stomping Ground
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: WORK
WORK. Another String to Your Bow
Sabotage
Salary
Tout
White-collar Worker
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BIBLICAL
BIBLICAL. Beard the Lion
Drop in the Ocean
Land of Nod
Not Know from Adam
Set Your Teeth on Edge
Sweat Blood
Take Under Your Wing
Writing is on the Wall
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: NAUTICAL
NAUTICAL. Accost
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Cat Got Your Tongue?
Flying Dutchman
Give a Wide Berth
Hard Up
Know the Ropes
Long Shot
Nail Your Colours to the Mast
Radar
Slush Fund
Take Down a Peg or Two
Turn a Blind Eye
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. Alkali
Catherine Wheel
Hermetically Sealed
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: ACROSS THE POND
ACROSS THE POND. Big Apple
Brush-off
Chew the Fat
Even Stevens
Get a Kick Out of
Go Postal
Have a Yen
Hell-bent
Hoodlum
Jump the Gun
Pan Out
Sixty-four-dollar Question
Speakeasy
Stiff Upper Lip
Take for a Ride
Take to the Cleaners
Uncle Sam
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: WEATHER
WEATHER. Greased Lightning
Halcyon Days
Red Sky at Night
Storm in a Teacup
CHAPTER NINETEEN: ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. Anecdote
Antics
Beat the Band
Bell the Cat
Better than a Poke in the Eye with a Sharp Stick
Bring Down the House
Damp Squib
Down in the Dumps
Ghost in the Machine and God from the Machine
Ghostwriter
Ham Actor
Hanky-panky
Heebie-jeebies
In the Groove
Jukebox
Lick and a Promise
Magazine
Play Second Fiddle
Play to the Gallery
Quiz
See a Man about A Dog
Slapstick
Steal Your Thunder
Upstage
Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve
Whole Gamut of Emotions
CHAPTER TWENTY: RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION
RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION. Adam’s Apple
Baptism of Fire
Bless You
Devil’s Advocate
Honeymoon
Lightning Never Strikes Twice
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Take a Pew
Tie the Knot
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: MEDICINE
MEDICINE. Cholesterol
Melancholy
Moron
Quarantine
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: MISCELLANEOUS…
MISCELLANEOUS… Ambiguous
April Fool
Berserk
Between You, Me and the Lamppost
Bite the Dust
Bone Up
Born with a Silver Spoon in Your Mouth
Break the Ice
Burn the Candle at Both Ends
Caught with Your Pants Down
Double Entendre
Fiasco
For Crying out Loud
French Leave
Go Against the Grain
Go to Town
Hold Water
Hot Water
Kith and Kin
Lackadaisical
Lay an Egg
Maundy Thursday
Paraphernalia
Pay the Piper
Peter Out
Pieces of Eight
Pour Oil on Troubled Waters
Put a Spoke in Your Wheel
Put the Screws on
Round Robin
Run Amok
Run into the Ground
Scot-free
Shilly-shally
Shoddy
Sleep on a Clothes Line
Snog
Spendthrift
Stew in Your Own Juice
Taxi
That’s the Ticket!
Through Thick and Thin
To the Manner (Manor) Born
Upset the Apple Cart
Wet Blanket
With Bells on
Without Rhyme or Reason
INDEX
ALSO BY HARRY OLIVER
Copyright
