This is the list of word and phrase origins contained on this site. The words and phrases are selected because their origins are inherently interesting or because some bit of folklore, sometimes true and sometimes false, is associated with the origin. The etymologies of common words with straightforward explanations can be found in any good dictionary and, for the most part, I do not attempt to reproduce them here. Many of the words have been added as a result of questions or suggestions from readers of the site. So, if you want to know the origin of a specific word or phrase, use the contact form to send in a request.
0 – 9
23-skidoo | 420 | 5-O / 12 | 86
Letter A
a-bomb / atomic bomb | absentee | acre | actinium | Africa | airship | akimbo | Alabama | Alaska | Alberta | ale | all your base are belong to us | allege | aluminum / aluminium / alum | amateur | America | americium | anaconda | angel | Antarctic | antimony | A-OK | Appalachia / Appalachian | April fool | apron strings, tied to | arch | Aquidneck | Arctic | argon | Arizona | Arkansas | armadillo | army game, old | arsenic | Asia | assassin | assignation | astatine | asteroid | Atlantic Provinces | atmospheric river | atomic bomb / a-bomb | at sixes and sevens | auld lang syne | Australia | avocado | awesome / awful
Letter B
Baby Boomer | bachelor | bag, let the cat out of | bagel | bailiwick | baker’s dozen | balling the jack | balls to the wall / balls out | banana republic | bandwagon, jump on the | banjax | barbecue | barium | barrel, over a | baseball | basket case | bated breath | bats in the belfry | battery (electrical) | be | bear (animal) / bruin | bear arms | bear market | bedlam | Bechdel test | beech | beefeater | been there, done that | beer | beeswax, none of your | belfry | berkelium | berserk / berserker | bespoke | beryl / beryllium | beyond the pale I bible | Big Apple | Big Bang | big endian | bigwig | bikini | bimbo | bismuth | bit (computer) | bitch / son of a bitch | bits, two | bizarre | black box | Black Friday / Cyber Monday | blackguard | blackleg | blackmail | blaster | blimp | blind pig / blind tiger | blink, on the | blitz | blockbuster | bloody | blow the whistle on | blue / blues | blue mirage | blue moon | blue state | blurb | blush, at first | Bob’s your uncle | bogart | bogey / boogie man | bohrium | bomb cyclone / bombogenesis | boob / booby / booby hatch / booby prize | boogey man / bogey | book | book, throw the b. at | boondocks | boondoggle | bootstrap / boot up | booty / bootylicious | booze | bordello | boron | boss | bounds / boundary | bowl | Boxing Day | boycott | brass monkey, cold enough to freeze the balls off a | brass tacks | break a leg | breaking bad | British Columbia | broad | bromine | brothel | brown nose / brownie / brownie points | bruin / bear (animal) | Brunswick | bubble (investments) | buccaneer | buck (dollar) | bucket list | Buckley’s chance | buckminsterfullerene / buckyball | bug (computer) | bull market | bullpen | bump / bumper crop | bunk / bunkum | Burma | busman’s holiday | butler | buy a pig in a poke | buy the farm | by and large | byte
Letter C
cabal | cabbage night | caboodle, kit and / whole kit | cad / caddie / cadet | cadmium | caesarean / caesarean section | caesium | calcium | calculus | California | californium | call a spade a spade / spade | callow | Calvinball | Canada | cancer / canker | canvas / canvass | capital / capitol | capsicum | carbon / diamond / graphite | card sharp / card shark | carol | Carolina, North & South | cat, let out of the bag | catawampus | catch-22 | catercorner / catty-corner / kitty-corner | catsup | caucus | cæsium | celtium | Ceres (asteroid) | cerium | cesium | chad (keypunch) | Chad, Mr. | chair / chairman | charger plate | charley horse | Charlie | chauvinism | checkmate | cheesesteak | Chesapeake | chili | China | chlorine | chonk | chow | Christian | Christmas / Xmas | chromium / chrome | church key | churl | cicada | cinch | clickbait | cloak and dagger | close, but no cigar | cloture | cloud nine | club sandwich | cobalt | cockpit | cocktail | coin / coin a phrase | cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey | cold turkey | cold war | coldest winter … San Francisco | college | colonel | Colorado | Columbia | columbium | comet | commando | commode | computer | condom | coney / Coney Island | confabulation / confab | Connecticut | conventional weapon | cop | copacetic | copernicium | copper | corn night | coronavirus / COVID-19 | cotton | cotton-picking / cotton-picker | coup d’état | cowabunga | cracker | crackerjack | crap | craps | crash blossom | creek | crisis actor | critical race theory / critical legal studies | crocodile tears | crud / cruddy | cuckold / cuckquean / hotwife / cuckservative | cultural genocide | cunt | curd | curfew / sundown town | curium | curmudgeon | cut the mustard | cut to the chase | cute | cyber- | Cyber Monday / Black Friday | cyclone
Letter D
d-day | Dago | Dakota | dark ages | dark and stormy night | darmstadtium | Davy Jones's locker | deadline | deadname | debt | deep kimchi, in | deer | Delaware | democracy | denim / jeans | deplatform | devil/hell to pay | devil’s night | diamond | diaspora | dickens | didymium | die | digs | dilettante | dirigible | dirt poor / filthy rich | dismal | District of Columbia | ditto | Dixie | dizzy | docket | doctor | dog eat dog | dog | dog won’t hunt, that | doh | dollar | dollar princess | dollars to doughnuts | doll / dolly | dongle | doom | doomscroll / doomscrolling | doozy | dope | dork | doughboy | doughnut | down to brass tacks | drag (verb) I drag (cross-dressing) | drag race | dressed to the nines | drink the Kool-Aid | dry run | dubnium | duck, duck, goose | duck (fabric) / duck tape / duct tape | duh | duke / dukes | dum-dum | dunce | Dutch treat | dwarf planet | dyke | dysprosium
Letter E
earl | earth | Easter / Easter bunny / pasch / paschal | eavesdrop | eeny, meany, miney, moe | eggcorn | egg on | egg-nog | egregious | eighty-six | einsteinium | eka- | electoral college | elephant, to see the | elf | emoji | endian, big / little / middle | enthusiasm / enthuse | envelope | erbium | ergonomics | Eskimo | esquire / squire | estate car | ethnic cleansing | ethnocide | eureka | Europe | europium | evolution | exception that proves the rule
Letter F
fable | face | face the music | faggot | fair to middling | fan fiction / fanfic | fantastic | fascism / fascist | fast and loose | Father Christmas | fat lady sings, the opera ain’t over until | feel one’s oats | fermium | field day | fifth column | filibuster | filthy rich / dirt poor | fire | first blush, at | fiscal / procurator-fiscal | fish or cut bait | five by five | five-oh / twelve | flack / flak | flea market | fleabag | flerovium | flop / flip-flop | Florida | flu / influenza | fluorine | flying colors | flying saucer | Flynn, in like | fond | food desert / food swamp | fortnight | four-twenty | frak | francium | frankincense | freeholder | free lunch (no such thing as) | freelance / freelancer | French fries | French kiss | frisk, stop and | fritz, on the | frog march | fuck | fuck the dog | fudge | fullerene | full monty | fuzz
Letter G
G-man | G.I. / G.I. Joe | gadolinium | Gaelic | gaffe | galaxy | Gallic | gallium | galoot | gam | gargoyle | gaslight | Gaul | gay / gaycat | geek | Generation X/Y/Z/Alpha | genocide | Georgia | germanium | gerrymander | ghost | ghoul | gig | give up the ghost | glitch | globalization | Glomar response | goblin | go Dutch | God rest you merry | go for broke | gold | golf | golliwog | gonzo | Good Friday | goody two-shoes | googol / Google | goosey night | gopher / gofer / gopher wood | gospel | gossip | Gotham | go yard | graduand | grandfather clause | graphite | graveyard shift | Greatest Generation | grain of salt, with a | green room | gringo | Grits (Canadian political term) | Groundhog Day | ground zero | guacamole | Guam | guerrilla | guinea | gun | gun, son of a | gung ho | gyp
Letter H
h-hour | hack / hackney | hack (verb) / hacker | hafnium | hag | hahnium | hairbag | Halloween | ham | Hampshire | handicap | happy as a clam | hard-nosed | harlot | hashish | hassium | hat trick | Hawai’i | hawk a loogie | head over heels | headshrinker | heathen | heaven | helium | hell | hell in a handbasket | hell-bent / hell-bent for leather / hell-bent for election / hell for leather | hell night | hell/devil to pay | hello | henchman | hermetic seal | hero | high | high misdemeanor | High Street | highway | hijack | hip hip hooray / hurrah | hit the skids | hobbit | hobgoblin | Hobson's choice | hocus-pocus | Hogan's goat | Hogmanay | holmium | holt | homecoming | hold my beer | honeymoon | honky | hooch (dwelling) | hooch (liquor) | hoodwink | hook or by crook | hooker | hooky / play hooky | hooligan | Hoosier | hootchy-kootchy | hospital | hot | hot dog | hotshot | hot take | hotwife / cuckold / cuckquean / cuckservative | hound | huckleberry | humble / humble pie | hunky-dory | Huron | hurricane | husband / husbandry | hustings | hydro | hydrogen | hypocrisy / hypocrite | hysteria / hysterical
Letter I
Idaho | identity politics | Illinois | imp | impeach / impeachment | inauguration | influenza / flu | in like Flynn | incel | Indian giver | Indian summer | Indiana | indict / indictment | indigenous | indium | install / installation | iodine | Iowa | iridium | iron | irregardless | it ain’t over till it’s over | ivory tower | Ivy League
Letter J
jabroni | jack, balling the | Jack Frost | Jack Robinson | jackknife | jackleg | java | jay / jaywalk | jazz | jeans / denim | jeep | jejune | jerk / jerk-off | jerkwater | jerky | jerry-built | Jersey | Jim Crow | jinx | joe | jody | John Bull | jones | Joneses, keeping up with the | Judeo-Christian | jump the shark | Juneteenth | Juno (asteroid) | Jupiter (planet) | jury rig | just do it
Letter K
K/S | kangaroo | kangaroo court | Kansas | Karen | Katy bar the door | keener | keeping up with the Joneses | keep one's nose clean | keister | Kentucky | ketchup | kettling | khaki | kibosh | kick the bucket | Kilroy was here | kimchi, in deep | kit and caboodle / whole kit | kitty-corner / catty-corner / catercorner | knickerbocker / knickers | knight | knock yourself out | Kool-Aid, drink the | Kris Kringle | krypton | Kuiper belt objects | Ku Klux Klan | kurchatovium
Letter L
lallapalooza | l'esprit de l'escalier | Labrador | lady | lallapaloosa | lam, on the | laneway | lanthanum | larboard | lash | launder / laundry | lavender | lawrencium | lead | lead pipe cinch | leap year | leatherneck | leech | left wing / right wing | legislature | lend-lease | Lent | let the cat out of the bag | libel | lickspittle | life of Riley | light at the end of the tunnel | light fantastic, trip the | lions, to see the | literally | lithium | little endian | livelong | livermorium | lobby / lobbyist | lock and load | lock, stock, and barrel | lollapalooza | lollygag | long in the tooth | loo | loose cannon | lord | lorem ipsum... | Lost Generation | Louisiana | louse / lousy / louse up | love bug | Luddite | lukewarm | lu-lu | lunatic fringe | lunch / luncheon | lutetium | luxury | lynch
Letter M
Mae West | magnesium | main | main drag | Main Street | Maine | malarkey | mammoth | man | manganese | Manhattan | Manitoba | mansplaining | march (verb) | March Madness | Mariana Islands | Maritimes / Maritimer / Maritime Provinces | Mars | martini | Maryland | Massachusetts | mastodon | mate | Maundy Thursday | mayday | McCoy, the real | measles | meat | Mecca | medieval | meh | meitnerium | melt / meltdown | meme | mendelevium | mercury (element) | Mercury (planet) | meritocracy | merry | meta | metamour | metes and bounds | Mexico | Michigan / Michigander / Michiganian | microaggression | microgravity | Middle Ages | middle-earth | middle endian | Milky Way | milquetoast | Millennial | mind your Ps and Qs | mind-meld | mine | Minnesota | minstrel | mischief night | misdemeanor | misogynoir | Mississippi | Missouri | mistletoe | mojo | moll | Molotov cocktail | molten | molybdenum | mondegreen | money laundering | monkey wrench | Montana | mook / moke | moon | moonstruck | morphology | mortgage | moscovium | Mr. Chad | mukbang | muckety-muck | mug / mugger / mug shot | mulligan | Murphy's Law | music, face the | Myanmar | myrrh | my work here is done
Letter N
nail-biter | narc / nark | Nebraska | neck / neck of the woods | neither confirm nor deny | neodymium | neon | neptunium | nerd | nervous breakdown | Nevada | new / news | New Brunswick | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | New York minute | Newfoundland | nice | nickel | nielsbohrium | n——r / n-word | nightingale | nightmare | nihonium | nimrod | niobium | nitrogen | nobelium | nones (religious, not “nuns”) | no quarter | normality / normalcy / normalness / North Carolina | Northwest Territories | not a pot to piss in | notorious | Nova Scotia | nuclear option | Nunavut
Letter O
oat | occupy | October surprise | off the wall | oganesson | Ohio | OK / okay / A-OK | OK Boomer | Oklahoma | old army game | Ontario | on the fritz / blink | on the q.t. | Oort cloud | open access | opera ain't over until the fat lady sings | orange | Oregon | Oscar | osmium | over a barrel | oxygen
Letter P
Ps and Qs, mind your | paddy wagon | paddywhack | pagan | pale, beyond the | palladium | Pallas (asteroid) | pandemic | pandemonium | paparazzi | pasch / paschal / Easter | pastrami | patient zero | pay through the nose | PC | peak | peanut / peanut gallery | peg / pegging | peloton | Pennsylvania | pepper spray / tear gas | phat | phony / phoney | phosphorus | piccaninny | picnic | pig | pig in a poke | pike | pilgrim | pill / the Pill | pink / pinkie | pipe dream | piss poor | pitchblende | pizza | pizzazz | planet | planets, names of the classical | platinum | platoon | play fast and loose | plead / pleaded / pled | plugged nickel | Pluto | plutonium | pneumatic | poindexter | poinsettia | point blank | poke, pig in a | poker | polite | politically correct / PC | polka / polka dot | polonaise | polonia | polonium | polony | polycule | pommes frites | pony / pony up | poop / poop deck | pork / pork barrel | pork roll / Taylor Ham | pornography | port | posh | potato | pot to piss in, not a | potboiler | potash | potassium | pound sand | poutine | praseodymium | precovery | pretendian | Prince Edward Island | procurator-fiscal | promethium | proof of the pudding | prorogation / prorogue | pros from Dover | protactinium | pudding | Puerto Rico | pull the wool over one's eyes | pumpernickel | pumpkin | pumpkin spice | punter | purple state | push the outside of the envelope | pussyfoot
Letter Q
q.t., on the | quarantine | quark | quarter, no | quean | Quebec | quick | quicksilver | quid pro quo | quiet part (out) loud | quiz | qt, on the
Letter R
rabbit | rabbit test / the rabbit died | raccoon | race / racism | radiation | radio | radioactive | radium | radon | rain cats and dogs | rain check | Ramadan | rap | rapid unplanned/unscheduled disassembly (RUD) | rapture | read the riot act | real McCoy, the | Red Baron | redhanded | red herring | redline | red mirage | redneck | redskin / red man | red state | red tape | reeve | reggae | reindeer | republic | resile | rhenium | Rhode Island | rhodium | rhubarb | rickroll | riding | right stuff | right wing / left wing | ring around the rosie | riot act | Roanoke | robot | roentgenium | roger (radio use) | rope-a-dope | round robin | Rube Goldberg | rubidium | rule of thumb | run it up the flagpole | ruthenium | rutherfordium
Letter S
sabbatical | sabotage | salad / salad days | salary | salt, with a grain of | Sam Hill | samarium | Samoa | sandwich | sanitation / sanitary / sanitorium | Santa Claus | Saracen | Saskatchewan | satellite | Saturn | saunter | saved by the bell | sawbuck | say uncle | scab | scandium | scapegoat | science fiction | scot-free | scram | screw / Scrooge | screw the pooch | scuttlebutt | sea change | seaborgium | secretary | sedition | seed | see you next Tuesday | see the elephant / lions | selenium | shadow docket | shamrock | shanty | shark (fish) | sharp / sharper / shark (cards) | shebang / shebeen | shenanigans | sheriff | shit | shock and awe | shooting brake | shrift / shrive / short shrift | shrew / shrewd | shrink | sideburns | Silent Generation | silicon | silver | sin | sixes and sevens, at | skedaddle | skid row / skid road / hit the skids | skin of one's teeth | skyjack | slang | slash | sleep tight | slim | smart aleck | smoking gun | snowclone | snuff, up to | soap opera | soccer | social cleansing | social distance | sodium | soft-nosed | Soho | son of a bitch / bitch | son of a gun | sophisticated | SOS | South Carolina | southpaw | sow one’s wild oats | spade / call a spade a spade | spam | spangle | speculative fiction | speed | spic / spiggoty | spick and span | spitting image | spooky season | spud | square / square meal | squash | squaw | squire / esquire | staircase wit | -stan / -istan (toponymic suffix) | stan (slang) | star | star-spangled | starboard | stare decisis | state of the art | station wagon | steward / stewardess | stiff drink | stiff upper lip | stool pigeon | stop and frisk | striped pig | strontium | suborn | sulfur | sun | sundown town / curfew | Super Bowl | Superb Owl | superspreader | sur- | swan song | swashbuckler | SWAT / swatting | sweeps | swing shift | swing state | synergy
Letter T
tabby | tabloid | tacit | tail wagging the dog | take me to your leader | Taliban | TANSTAAFL | tantalum | Taps | tattoo | tawdry | Taylor Ham / pork roll | tear gas / pepper spray | technetium | teetotal | tellurium | Tennessee | tennessine | tenterhooks | terbium | terrific | terror / terrorism / terrorist | testify | testilying | Texas | thallium | Thanksgiving | that dog won’t hunt | that's white of you | think outside the box / dots | third degree | Third World | this is a Wendy’s | thorium | three sheets to the wind | threshold | throw a monkey wrench into | throw the baby out with the bathwater | throw the book at | Thule | thulium | tidal wave | tidy | tin | tinker / tinker's damn | tinsel | tip | tit for tat | titanium | Tijuana bible | tomato pie | toe the line / toe the mark | Tommy / Tommy Atkins | tongue in cheek | Toronto | tow-headed | trailer (movie) | trench foot / trench mouth | trespass | triage | trick or treat | trigger warning / trigger | trip the light fantastic | triskaidekaphobia | triumph | trivia / trivial | troubleshoot / troubleshooter | truck / truck farm | truthiness | tsunami | tuck / tucker out / take the tuck out of | tungsten | turkey (bird) | tuxedo | tweetzkrieg | twelve / five-oh | twenty-three skidoo | two-spirit
Letter U
UFO | Ultima Thule | unboxing | uncle / say uncle | Uncle Sam | under the weather | Underground Railroad | undermine | unicorn | United Nations | unmentionables | up a creek | up to snuff | upset | upsidaisy | uranium | Uranus | Utah
Letter V
vaccine | valentine | Valkyrie | vampire | vanadium | vaudeville | Venus | Vermont | Vesta (asteroid) | vet | Viking | Virginia | Virgin Islands | virus / viral | voluntary / volunteer
Letter W
wag the dog | waif | waive | wake | war crime / war criminal | Washington (DC & state) | wassail | weapon of mass destruction | weird | welch / Welsh | Wendy’s, this is a | werewolf | West Virginia | when the looting starts, the shooting starts | whip / whiplash | whistleblower | white / that’s white of you | white elephant | white shoe | white trash | whole nine yards | whole shebang | whore | Wicca / witch | widow / widow's peak | wife | wild goose chase | wild oats | Windy City | wipe | Wisconsin | witch / Wicca | witch hunt | with a grain of salt | wog | woggle | woke | wolfram | woman | woo-woo | wop | world war | Wyoming
Letter X
Letter Y
Yankee | yard | yard, go | yellowcake | yellow-journalism | yodel | York | Yosemite | ytterbium | yttrium | Yukon | yule
Letter Z
zeppelin | zero gravity / zero g | zinc | zirconium / zircon
