What are the word records for for each letter?

language/english/etymology/words.with.unusual.origins/fossil/for.each.letter New

New entry, edited from material collected for the archive and not yet in a released version.

Problem

What are the word records for for each letter?
(Etymology / Words with unusual origins / fossil (word that occurs only in idioms))

[ Editor: question framed by the editor from the headings of the Taxonomy of Wordplay. ]

Show solution

[ Editor: from the Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com, retrieved 28 Oct 2026. Classes (common, uncommon, hyphenated words, phrases), scores, ties (-t) and the source codes in brackets are explained in language/english/word.records.introduction. ]

see list "Word That Exists Only in an Idiom, Beginning with Each Letter" below

Word That Exists Only in an Idiom, Beginning with Each Letter
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a       agley (gang aft agley)
b       bejeebers (scare the bejeebers out of)
c       cockles (cockles of the heart)
d       druthers (if I had my druthers)
e       escutcheon (blot on the escutcheon)
f       fritz (on the fritz)
g       gird (gird one's loins)
h       haw (hem and haw)
i       ish (ish kabibble)
j       jig (the jig is up)
k       kith (kith and kin)
l       lam (on the lam)
m       muchness (much of a muchness)
n       nip (nip and tuck)
o       offing (in the offing)
p       petard (hoist by one's own petard)
q       QT (on the QT)
r       raring (raring to go)
s       shebang (the whole shebang)
t       tat (tit for tat)
u       umbrage (take umbrage at)
v       vale (vale of tears)
w       welkin (make the welkin ring)
x       ?
y       yen (have a yen for)
z       zoot (zoot suit)

-- Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com