All that glisters is not gold. or All that glitters is not gold
Not everything that appears valuable or attractive is genuinely so
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Where will you be? Anywhere UK & IrelandUnited StatesOnline slangBusiness jargon
all that jazz
and all the other related things
all the gear and no idea
Having all the necessary equipment or resources but lacking the knowledge or skill to use them effectively
all the marbles
to have complete control or possession
all the more
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
all the rage
Very popular or fashionable at a particular time
all the same
exactly equal or identical in nature
All the Talents
This is the name given to the administration formed by Lord Grenville in 1806 on the death 9f William Pitt. It was an attempt at a coalition of Tories, moderate Whigs and extreme Whigs, and included Charles James Fox as Foreign Secretary. It accomplished nothing spectacular, however, though one great measure will always stand to its credit — the abolition of the slave trade. The Government was dissolved in 1807.
all the tea in China
something extremely desirable or valuable
all the time
frequently or constantly
all the way
completely or to the fullest extent
all the way to Egery and back
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
All the wealth I had ran in my veins; I was a gentleman. (William Shakespeare)
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
all the while
During the entire time something is happening
all the world loves a lover
People are more likely to support and be kind to those in love
all there
Completely sane or normal
All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God. (Sir Thomas Browne]]
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
all things are soon prepared in a well ordered house
A well-organized household can accomplish tasks efficiently
all things come to those who wait
Patience and waiting will ultimately lead to success or achievement.
all things considered
Taking everything into account
All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare (Spinoza)
Exceptional things are hard to achieve or find
all things must pass
Nothing lasts forever, everything is transient
all things to all people
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
All those men have their price. (Robert Walpole)
Everyone can be bribed or corrupted
all to pieces
Utterly, excessively; "he beat him ALL TO PIECES," i.e., excelled or surpassed him exceedingly. Also a term much in use among sporting men and expressing want of form, or decadence. A boat’s crew are said to "go ALL TO PIECES" when they through distress lose their regularity. A woman is vulgarly said to "fall to pieces," or "tumble to pieces," when she is confined.
all to smash
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
all told
including everything
all too well
very familiarly or knowingly
all very well
satisfactory or acceptable, but not necessarily good
all wet
Completely wrong or mistaken
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
all you need is love
Love is the most important thing in life
all your swans are geese
All your fine Eromises or expectations have proved illacious. "Hope told a flattering tale." The converse, AH your geese are swans, means all your children are paragons, and whatever you do is in your own eyes superlative work.
all-a-mort
Struck dumb, confounded. What, sweet one, all-a-mort? SHAKESPEARE.
All-Hallows Summer
Another name for St Martin's Summer (see SUMMER), because it sets in about All Hallows; also called St. Luke's Summer (St. Luke's Day is Oct. 18th), and the Indian summer (?.v.).
All-Hallows' Eve
Many old folklore cus- toms are connected with All-Hallows' Eve (October 31st), such as bobbing for apples, cracking nuts (mentioned in the Vicar o Wakefield), finding by various "tests" whether one's lover is true, etc. Buras's Hallowe'en gives a good picture of Scottish customs; and there is a tradition in Scotland that those born on All-Hallows' Eve have the gift of double sight, and commanding powers over spirits.
all-overish
Neither sick nor well; the premonitory symptoms of illness. Also the feeling which comes over a man at a critical moment, say just when he is about to "pop the question." Sometimes this is called, "feeling all over alike, and touching nowhere."
all-rounder
A shirt collar going all round the neck and meeting in front. Once fashionable, but little worn now.
all-weather friend
A friend who remains loyal and supportive in all situations
Alligator Pear
The name given to the fruit of the West Indian tree, Persea gratis- sima. It is a corruption either of the Carib aouacate, called by the Spanish discoverers avocado or avigato, or of the Aztec abuacath, which was transmitted through the Fr. avocat and Sp. aguacate. In any case the fruit has nothing to do with the reptile.
alls
The five alls is a country sign, representing five human figures, each having a motto under him. The first is a king in his regalia; his motto, I govern all: the second, a bishop in pontificals; motto, I pray for all: third, a lawyer in his gown; motto, I plead for all: fourth: a soldier in his regimentals, fully accoutred; motto, I fight for all: fifth, a poor countryman with his scythe and rake; motto, I pay for all.
alls
Tap-droppings, refuse spirits sold at a cheap rate in gin-palaces.
Alma Mater
A collegian so calls the university of which he is a member. The words are Latin for "fostering mother," and in ancient Rome the title was given to several goddesses, especially Ceres and Cybele.
almighty dollar
Money, especially when pursued at the expense of other values.
Almighty Dollar
Washington Irving seems to have been the first to use this expression: —
almond rocks
Socks.
Alnaschar's Dream
Counting your chickens before they are hatched. Alnaschar the barber's fifth brother (in the Arabian Nights story), invested all his money in a basket of glassware, on which he was to make a profit which, being invested, was to make more, and this was to go on till he grew rich enough to marry the vizier's daughter. Being angry with his imaginary wife he gave a kick, overturned his basket, and broke ail his wares.
along about
At a point in time, often unexpectedly
along the lines of
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
along with somebody
Accompanying someone
Alonzo of Aguilar
When Fernando, King of Aragon, was laying siege to Granada in 1501, he asked who would undertake to plant his banner on the heights. Alonzo, "the low- most of the dons," undertook the task but was cut down by the Moors. His body was exposed in the wood of Oxijera, and the Moor- ish damsels, struck with its beauty, buried it near the brook of Alpuxarra. The incident is the subject of a number of ballads.
Alphonsine Tables
A revision of the Ptole- maic planetary tables made at the command of Alphonsus X of Castile — himself a noted astronomer— by a body of 50 or more of the most learned astronomers of the time. They were completed in 1252.
Alpine Race
This is another name for the large Celtic Race and is applied to the thick- set men, with broad faces, hazel eyes, and light chestnut hair who inhabited the north- west extremity of France, Savoy, Switzerland, the Ardennes, Vosges, and the Biscayan coasts. They were a midway race between the Scan- dinavian Nordics and the dark Mediter- ranean folk; the zenith of their culture was the so-called La Tene period (500 B.C. to A.D. 1).
Also the emblem of St
Nicholas of Bari, who is said to have given three purses of gold to three virgin sisters to enable them to marry.
altamel
A verbal or lump account, without particulars, such as is commonly produced at bawdy-houses, spunging-houses, &c. Vide DUTCH RECKONING.
alter ego
(Lat. 9ther I, other self). One's double; one's intimate and thoroughly trusted friend; one who has full powers to act for another. Cf. "One's second self" under SECOND.
alternative to something
An option in place of another
altitudes
The man is in his altitudes, i.e. he is drunk.
alto relievo
Italian for "high relief." A term used in sculpture for figures in wood, stone, marble, etc., so cut as to project at least one-half from the tablet.
Amadis of Gaul
The hero of a prose romance of the same title, supposed to have been written by the Portuguese, Vasco de Lobeira (d. 1403), with additions by the Spaniard Montalvo, and by many subsequent romancers, who added exploits and adventures of other knights and thus swelled the romance to fourteen books.
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