To the nines is an idiom, usually used as an adverb, that means the action is done perfectly or to an extravagant extent. The British English version is up to the nines. The phrase itself dates back to the 1700s. It was used in the sense that something made someone so happy …
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Downright is an adjective that describes something bad as completely bad or wholly bad. Sometimes it is used as an adverb to modify other adjectives, positive or negative, and then it simply means completely or wholly. Sometimes is it also an adjective to describe something as extremely harsh or blunt, without …
To downplay something is to make the object or issue seem to be less than what it really is, either in importance or value. It is a transitive verb that always occurs with an object. Play down is also a transitive verb and is a direct synonym with downplay. Play down was coined first. Other …
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Dotage is a noun for the time in one’s life when one is aged and not as strong as before. This weakness is physical and sometimes mental as one loses memories and the ability to recall information. This noun is usually used with a possessive pronoun, such as her dotage, my dotage, or their …
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Don’t is a contraction of the words do not which means not to perform or complete an action. A don’t is something that should not be accomplished or completed. The common phrase with the plural is spelled dos and don’ts. While dos has an alternate spelling (both dos and do’s is accepted by different people), don’ts is always don’ts and never don’t’s. Interestingly, in the past it …
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Do is a verb meaning to complete or perform an action. A to-do list is something that outlines all of the things one needs to accomplish in a certain amount of time. Another phrase is the dos of something or the things that are good or correct to perform within a certain area. Do’s is a sometimes accepted …
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A mob is a big gathering of people, this group may or may not be violent or angry. The mob is an illegal organization of people that commit crimes. To mob is to have a gathering of people push toward something, surrounding it. This group may just be excited but also may have the intent to …
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Fraud is a noun for the practice of lying to someone in order to gain something, either money or some other beneficial intangible. It is also the word for a person who commits fraud. Another term for this kind of person is a fraudster. This term is mainly used in British English, but …
Crowdsourcing is a noun for the practice of asking a large group of people, usually on the internet, to give resources like ideas or services. The idea of it is to not limit oneself to a particular group but to ask a wide range. It is a relatively new word, from the …
Heretofore is a very formal adverb that simply means before the current time, or until now. Hitherto is another very formal adverb that means until the current time or before now. The two words are synonyms and severely unpopular. Even in legal and scholarly realms it is better to use simpler synonyms …