An ever-growing, browsable database of phrases and multi-word expressions arranged by enumeration (letter pattern) for UK style crosswords. Particularly useful for Jumbo and Prize crosswords. Great inspiration for crossword setters! Crossword solvers might proceed as follows:
Anglophobic tigress discovered by the Large Hadron Collider? (5,5,8)
...look up the 5,5,8 entries by clicking on the "16 - 20 Letters" link below, then on the 18a tab, and scroll down - everything is laid out in numeric then alphabetical order. There you find: Higgs Boson Particle. (It's an anagram of 'anglophobic tigress'.)
From 3 to 31 letters.
Double nouns (including plurals), phrasal verbs (including inflections), proverbs, quotations, mottoes, people and places, literature, the performing arts, sport, common expressions, colloquialisms, idioms ...over 800 categories of information have been mined for this database, as well as thousands of answers from old crosswords. All entries have been selected by a human, not computer-generated.
To proceed, select the total number of letters in a phrase or multiple-word expression:
Hyphens are always treated as spaces (i.e. commas in the enumeration). Apostrophes are omitted, so if the answer is "St Vitus's dance" and it is enumerated in the clue as (2,5'1,5), you'll find it here as "St Vituss dance" under (2,6,5).
Last update: 28 March 2014 (500 new entries).
You come across some interesting and amusing coincidences while looking through phrases arranged by enumeration. There's a list below where the meanings either complement or contradict each other. My favourite is under 10,2,10. 9,2,3,4 is also very topical. Numerologists might make something of all this!
| 1,4,4,3,4 | a bolt from the blue | | 5,2,3,4,5 | lying to the back teeth | | a gift from the gods | | | swear on the holy bible | | 1,5,2,3,7 | a cloud on the horizon | | 5,2,4,2,3,6 | first in line to the throne | | a spell of bad weather | | | suits me down to the ground | | 1,6,2,1,8 | a chance in a thousand | | 5,3,1,4 | going for a song | | a needle in a haystack | | | taken for a ride | | 2,1,3,2,6 | do a lot of damage | | 5,3,4,2,2,6 | judge not lest ye be judged | | in a fit of temper | | | rules are made to be broken | | 2,2,3,4,3 | do it the hard way | | 5,3,4,3,5 | every Tom Dick and Harry | | in at the deep end | | | stand out from the crowd | | 2,2,7,3 | et in Arcadia ego | | 5,3,5 | speak the truth | | of no earthly use | | | spill the beans | | 2,3 | ex con | | 5,3,5,2,3,5 | cross the floor of the house | | ex cop | | | leave the scene of the crime | | 2,3,3,3,4,2,3 | if its all the same to you | | 5,3,7,2 | extol the virtues of | | if its not too much to ask | | | stick two fingers up | | 2,3,4,2,3,3 | in the back of the net | | 5,4,3,3 | brush with the law | | on the edge of the box | | | crime does not pay | | 2,4,2,1,4 | as slim as a wand | | | phone nine one one | | as thin as a rake | | | under lock and key | | 2,5,3,8 | go forth and multiply | | 5,4,6,5 | crash bang wallop thump | | up close and personal | | | throw ones weight about | | 2,6,3,3 | ay theres the rub | | 5,4,7 | drown ones sorrows | | it drives you mad | | | empty ones bladder | | 3,2,3,4,2,5 | all is not what it seems | | 5,5,2,3,7 | first thing in the morning | | fly in the face of facts | | | throw light on the subject | | 3,2,3,9 | out of the spotlight | | 5,5,4 | going great guns | | sit on the sidelines | | | going going gone | | 3,2,4,8 | all on your lonesome | | 5,6,8 | Large Hadron Collider | | set up home together | | | split second decision | | 3,3,2,4 | the die is cast | | 5,7 | Peter Capaldi | | the end is nigh | | | Peter Cushing | | 3,3,3,5,4 | not for the first time | | | Peter Davison | | the boy who cried wolf | | 5,7,1,5 | going through a phase | | 3,3,5,2,4 | get the shock of ones life | | | Rebel without a Cause | | see the error of ones ways | | 5,7,3 | world without end | | 3,3,5,2,6 | its not going to happen | | | worth waiting for | | put the world to rights | | 5,8 | Welsh Assembly | | 3,3,9,3,5 | not all sweetness and light | | | white elephant | | the end justifies the means | | | windy rhetoric | | 3,4,2,1,5 | any port in a storm | | 5,8,11 | broad spectrum antibiotics | | The Lady is a tramp | | | every possible combination | | 3,4,2,3,5 | the sign of the cross | | 5,9 | muddy underfoot | | the sins of the flesh | | | music festivals | | 3,4,3,3,3 | get what you pay for | | 6,1,3 | caught a bus | | the rate for the job | | | hailed a cab | | 3,4,3,4,4 | for ever and ever amen | | 6,1,4,2,6 | answer a call of nature | | God does not play dice | | | heaved a sigh of relief | | 3,4,5,2,6 | led from start to finish | | 6,1,7,4 | desert a sinking ship | | The Pied Piper of Hamlyn | | | offers a helping hand | | 3,4,5,6 | get rich quick scheme | | 6,2,4 | Prince of Wales | | one born every minute | | | purple in grain | | 3,4,6,6 | bet your bottom dollar | | 6,2,8,2 | refuse to consider it | | the last chance saloon | | | theres no escaping it | | 3,4,8 | the cats whiskers | | 6,2,10 | Houses of Parliament | | the dogs bollocks | | | joined up government | | 3,4,11 | too much information | | 6,2,11 | Mother of Parliaments | | use your imagination | | | nation of shopkeepers | | 3,5,2,2 | get ready to go | | | Palace of Westminster | | the chase is on | | 6,3,5,4 | scored the first goal | | 3,5,2,3,4 | get ahead of the game | | | struck the first blow | | rob Peter to pay Paul | | 6,3,8 | effing and blinding | | 3,5,2,3,5 | the truth is out there | | | family get together | | two sides to the story | | 6,4,2 | gently does it | | 3,5,8 | the great unwashed | | | hammer away at | | the moral majority | | 6,4,2,4 | lowest form of life | | 3,6,2,2 | get around to it | | | travel back in time | | not enough to do | | 6,4,3,3 | patchy mist and fog | | 3,6,2,9 | the centre of attention | | | search high and low | | the finger of suspicion | | 6,4,3,5 | turned back the clock | | 3,6,2,11 | The Mother of Parliaments | | | voices from the grave | | The Palace of Westminster | | 6,4,4 | inject some pace | | 3,6,3,3 | the gloves are off | | | Kendal mint cake | | the knives are out | | 6,4,4,4 | escape with ones life | | 3,7,4 | The Selfish Gene | | | fasten ones seat belt | | The Missing Link | | 6,4,6,5 | Angels with Broken Wings | | 3,7,6 | The Mounted Police | | | depart this mortal realm | | The Perfect Murder | | 6,4,4,5 | better safe than sorry | | 3,7,6 | two pronged attack | | | fasten your seat belts | | war against terror | | 6,5,6 | proven track record | | 4,1,4,3,2,2 | make a good job of it | | | silver medal winner | | make a pigs ear of it | | 6,8 | French mistress | | 4,1,5,7 | beat a hasty retreat | | | frilly knickers | | make a quick getaway | | 6,10,4 | become acquainted with | | 4,1,8,4 | take a backward step | | | social networking site | | take a downward turn | | 7,3,4,2,7 | Against the laws of physics | | 4,1,8,6 | have a criminal record | | | Nothing can come of nothing | | make a citizens arrest | | 7,3,6 | predict the future | | 4,1,9,4 | lead a sheltered life | | | prepare the ground | | play a dangerous game | | 7,3,6,5 | receive the wooden spoon | | 4,2,1,4,4,7 | golf is a good walk spoiled | | | rewrite the record books | | when in a hole stop digging | | 7,4,1,6 | painted into a corner | | 4,2,3,4,4 | life in the fast lane | | | shunted into a siding | | make up for lost time | | 7,4,2,6 | Newtons Laws of Motion | | 4,2,3,5 | last in the queue | | | Nothing left to chance | | late to the party | | 7,5,3 | Mexican stand off | | 4,2,3,8 | play to the audience | | | penalty shoot out | | rise to the occasion | | 7,5,7 | nuclear power station | | take up the gauntlet | | | weapons grade uranium | | 4,2,5,4,2 | come to terms with it | | 7,6 | mammary glands | | lose no sleep over it | | | Marilyn Monroe | | 4,2,8,7 | have an attitude problem | | 7,10 | literal mindedness | | lack of parental control | | | logical positivism | | 4,3,4,2,4 | don’t try this at home | | 8,1,4 | shooting a line | | draw the line at that | | | spinning a yarn | | 4,3,4,2,4 | lose the will to live | | 8,1,4,5 | fighting a lost cause | | make the most of life | | | flogging a dead horse | | 4,3,5,2,6 | body and blood of Christ | | 8,1,6 | Category A prison | | puts the world to rights | | | Category B prison | | 4,3,5,3,3 | give the devil his due | | | Category C prison | | take the money and run | | | Category D prison | | Wham bam thank you mam | | | compound a felony | | 4,3,6,4 | kill the fatted calf | | 8,2,5 | proceeds of crime | | lean and hungry look | | | property is theft | | 4,3,6,7 | cold and frosty morning | | 8,2,5 | schedule of works | | keep the engine running | | | shortage of staff | | 4,3,8 | tout for business | | 8,3,5 | Scotland the Brave | | used car salesman | | | scrimped and saved | | 4,3,8,3 | burn the midnight oil | | 8,3,5 | shoulder the blame | | make the polluter pay | | | sidestep the issue | | 4,4,1,6 | back into a corner | | 8,3,7 | battered and bruised | | hold over a barrel | | | bloodied but unbowed | | make life a misery | | 8,4 | Immanuel Kant | | 4,4,2,3,4,4 | live life in the fast lane | | | immortal soul | | what time do you call this | | 8,5,4,5 | fiddling while Rome burns | | 4,4,3,11 | know ones own limitations | | | whatever takes your fancy | | some room for improvement | | 8,6,5 | American client state | | 4,4,4,2,3,6 | have both feet on the ground | | | handling stolen goods | | have ones head in the clouds | | 8,7 | credible witness | | 4,4,4 | look like hell | | | criminal offence | | look ones best | | 8,13 | auditory hallucination | | 4,4,5 | cast iron alibi | | | multiple personalities | | sure fire thing | | | paranoid schizophrenia | | 4,4,5,3,4,4 | wipe that smile off your face | | 9,2,3,4 | mortgaged to the hilt | | wash your mouth out with soap | | | overdrawn at the bank | | 4,4,5,4,4 | make ones dream come true | | 9,2,3,5 | gentlemen of the press | | turn base metal into gold | | | possessed by the devil | | 4,4,8 | tall dark stranger | | | preaching to the choir | | whet ones appetite | | 9,2,3,5 | stretched to the limit | | 4,5,2,3,4 | sail close to the wind | | | teetering on the brink | | stay ahead of the game | | 9,2,3,6 | injurious to the health | | 4,5,4,8 | dont count your chickens | | | pretender to the throne | | here today gone tomorrow | | 9,4 | pregnancy test | | 4,5,7 | here comes trouble | | | premature baby | | high speed pursuit | | 9,7 | attempted suicide | | 4,5,8 | calm under pressure | | | attention seeking | | can't think straight | | 10,2,3 | casualties of war | | 4,6,3,6 | Eats Shoots and Leaves | | | Walmington on Sea | | Here endeth the lesson | | 10,2,10 | Archbishop of Canterbury | | 4,7,4 | full frontal nude | | | everything in moderation | | give oneself airs | | 10,3,4 | guaranteed for life | | 4,7,4,2,4 | make someone feel at home | | | overegging the cake | | pump someone full of lead | | 10,7 | unswerving loyalty | | 4,7,5 | anti wrinkle cream | | | unwavering support | | full frontal nudes | | 11,2,3 | brotherhood of man | | 4,9,6 | self inflicted wounds | | | declaration of war | | semi automatic weapon | | 13,8,4 | consciousness altering drug | | 4,11,5 | Lady Chatterleys lover | | | International monetary fund | | slow comfortable screw | | | |
© Ben Iscatus 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
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