- skip - Brewer’s

Niʹhilo

.

Ex nihilo nihil fit. From nothing comes nothingi.e. every effect must have a cause. It was the dictum of Xenophanēs, founder of the Eleatic school (sixth century), to prove the eternity of matter. We now apply the phrase as equivalent to “You cannot get blood from a stone.” You cannot expect clever work from one who has no brains.

When all is said, “deity” is an exception.

 

previous entry · index · next entry

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

previous entry · index · next entry

Nicor (A)
Nicotine
Nidhögg
Niece
Nifiheim
Night
Nightcap (A)
Nightingale
Nightmare (A)
Nihilists
Nihilo
Nil Admirari
Nil Desperandum
Nile
Nilica or Sephalica
Nimble as a Cat on a hot Bakestone
Nimble as Ninepence
Nimbus
Nimini Pimini
Nimrod
Nincompoop