ShopWord Talk
If you’re a crossword solver, you’re bound to be a word lover, so I know you’re going to enjoy exploring Word Talk, where we look at many of the words and phrases in our fascinating English language, what they mean and where they came from. Filling In The Gaps also explains some of our crossword clues you may be unfamiliar with.
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Words And Phrases
A list of commonly used words and phrases and their origins.
- "Time is money"
- 'Hell bent' or 'Hell for leather'
- A-tishoo
- Alarm
- Alphabet
- Ammonia
- Ampersand
- An even break
- Argy-bargy
- Arms akimbo
- As dead as a doornail
- At one fell swoop
- Back to square one
- Bedlam
- Beyond the pale
- Big
- Canary
- Codswallop
- Codswallop
- Colossus
- Cravat
- Crisscross
- Curry favour
- Dollar
- Dressed to the nines
- Earwig
- Electricity
- Fiasco
- Frog in your throat
- From the horse's mouth
- Fuddy-duddy
- God bless you!
- Grog
- Hat trick
- Kangaroo court
- Keep your shirt on!
- Kick the bucket
- Kowtow
- Lazy Susan
- Let the cat out of the bag
- Limerick
- Mad as a hatter
- Mind your P's and Q's
- Money
- OK - Okay
- Orient
- Pagan
- Posh
- Quackery
- Quiz
- Raining cats and dogs
- Red Herring
- Rickshaw
- Rookie
- Scuttlebutt
- Seventh Heaven
- Shampoo
- Show a Leg
- Sideburns
- Soccer
- The Real McCoy
- Ventriloquism
- Zany
Filling In The Gaps
The story behind some of the people, places and events used in Lovatts crosswords.
- Albert, Prince Consort
- Annie Oakley
- April Fool's Day
- Attila the Hun
- Big Ben
- Billy the Kid
- Boston Tea Party
- Buffalo Bill
- Cenacle
- Chinese New Year
- Christmas Day
- Cupid
- Dr Jekyll
- Dr Spooner
- Draconian
- Dunlop
- Earl Grey
- Edgar Allan Poe
- El nino
- Eric the Red
- Eros
- Eva Peron - Evita
- Friday the 13th
- J Edgar Hoover
- Jesse Owens
- Joern Utzon
- Jolly Roger
- Lady Godiva
- Marco Polo
- Mata Hari
- Ned Kelly
- Nell Gwyn
- Nero - Roman Emperor
- Old Vic
- Pyramids of Egypt
- Rasputin
- Saint Patrick
- Shaka Zulu
- Sitting Bull
- Taj Mahal
- The Oscars
- Titan
- Uncle Sam
- Utah - the Mormon State
- Valentine's Day
- Wessex
- Yuan Tan
- Yuri Gagarin
