What do you call the covering on the end of a shoelace?
An aglet.
The metal hoop that supports a lampshade? A harp.
The indentation at the bottom of a wine bottle? A kick or a punt.
An aglet.
The metal hoop that supports a lampshade? A harp.
The indentation at the bottom of a wine bottle? A kick or a punt.
Spelunking is the exploration of caves as a hobby. It is not to be confused with speleology, the scientific study and exploration of caves.
The phrase Swan Song refers to ancient legend. It was thought that the swan, silent throughout its life, sang aloud in its final minutes.
A fortnight is fourteen days.
The American expression to Beat the Band is not more than a century old. It referred to the aim of arriving at a parade site before the band passed.
The word Nightmare was named after a creature but not a horse. According to ancient superstition dating back to the eighth century in England, people thought a female monster or spirit, a so-called mare, would sit upon a sleeper’s chest. This would cause a feeling of suffocation from which the sleeper would try to free…
The phrase “to look a gift horse in the mouth” is as old as the fourth century A.D. and once had a literal meaning. Up to a certain number of years, a horse’s age can be determined by examining its teeth. To perform such an examination on a horse you’ve been given is looking a…