Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 66 results in 66 entries
1. Babbitt, n.2 View full entry 1921
...A person likened to the character George Babbitt, esp. a materialistic, complacent businessman who conforms unthinkingly to the views and standards of his social set. Usu. in pl....
2. Big Mac, n. View full entry 1970
...A proprietary name for: the largest in a range of hamburgers sold by McDonald's fast-food outlets; (hence allusively) the biggest or best of a number of related things....
3. Billy Bunter, n. View full entry 1939
...The name of a schoolboy in stories written between 1908 and 1961 by ‘Frank Richards’ (Charles Hamilton, 18751961), used allusively to indicate fatness, gluttony, clumsiness,...
4. Brigadoon, n. View full entry 1968
...In allusive use. A place, person, or phenomenon likened in some way to Brigadoon, esp. on account of its mythical or idealized nature, its (romanticized) Scottishness, or its rare, fleeting...
5. camelious, adj. View full entry 1902
...Jocular word invented by Kipling (in form cameelious) to describe the hump given to the lazy camel in Just So Stories. Hence allusively (with ref. to...
6. Carey Street, n. View full entry 1922
...Used allusively to indicate a state of bankruptcy....
7. Carnaby Street, n. View full entry 1965
...Used allusively to refer to fashionable clothing designed for young people. Also ellipt. as Carnaby....
8. Casanova, n. View full entry 1928
...Used allusively of a man whose amorous activities resemble those of Casanova....
9. Coronation Street, n. View full entry 1962
...The name of a television series about the inhabitants of a street in a working-class area in northern England: used allusively to denote a typical street of this sort. Hence as ...
10. Dalek, n. View full entry 1963
...A type of robot appearing in ‘Dr. Who’, a B.B.C. Television science-fiction programme; hence used allusively. Also attrib. and Comb....
11. Dorothy, n. View full entry 1972
...a friend of Dorothy (slang), a homosexual man. Also in similar allusive uses....
12. Dracula, n. View full entry 1938
...The name of the king of the Vampires, invented by Bram Stoker in the novel of this name (1897), used allusively to denote a grotesque or terrifying person, etc. ...
13. Dungeons and Dragons, n. View full entry 1974
...A proprietary name for: a fantasy role-playing game set in an imaginary world based loosely on medieval myth, in which players' characters undertake (individual) quests at the direction of a player in...
14. felix culpa, n. View full entry 1913
...Allusively, the Fall of Man or the sin of Adam as resulting in the blessedness of the Redemption. Freq. transf., an apparent error or tragedy which has happy consequences....
15. fifth column, n. View full entry 1936
...Orig. the column of supporters which General Mola declared himself to have in Madrid, when he was besieging it in the Spanish Civil War, in addition to the four columns of his...
16. Gioconda, n. View full entry 1921
...The name of a painting (in full La Gioconda; also known as the Mona Lisa) by Leonardo da Vinci (14521519), used allusively attrib. to describe an enigmatic...
17. James Bond, n. View full entry 1967
...The name of the hero of a series of novels by the British writer Ian Fleming (190864), used allusively (freq. attrib. or as ) of...
18. Jeeves, n. View full entry 1952
...The name of a character in the novels of P. G. Wodehouse represented as the perfect valet, used allusively....
19. joined-up, adj. View full entry 1983
...Connected, conjoined. Of writing: cursive (as learnt in elementary school as a stage beyond printing individual letters separately), esp. in joined-up writing, joined-up handwriting; freq. used allusively...
20. ka-ching | ker-ching, int. and n. View full entry 1970
...Indicating the acquisition of (large amounts of) money; expressing happiness at such an acquisition; (also more generally) expressing celebration of or happiness at an achievement....
