‘to have a canary’: meaning and origin
chiefly Irish—to lose one’s composure, to be extremely upset—UK, 1970—probably a humorous play on ‘to have a coronary’ (i.e., to have a heart attack)
Read More‘cafeteria court’: meaning and origin
USA, 1923: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may sentence themself and their fellow offenders—USA, 1925: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may pay a fixed fine without having to stand trial
Read More‘twenty-four carat(s)’: meaning and origin
something or someone that is unalloyed, throughgoing, trustworthy—USA, 1848—refers to gold with the complete purity of twenty-four parts out of twenty-four
Read More‘the cream of the crop’: meaning and origin
the best produce from a harvest—hence: the best of a group of people or things—UK, 1828—from ‘cream’ (i.e., the most excellent element or part)
Read More‘one’s heart rules one’s head’: meaning and early occurrences
USA, 1836—one is governed by one’s feelings rather than by rational or practical considerations
Read More‘jumpers for goalposts’: meaning and origin
as ‘coats for goalposts’: UK, late 19th century—refers to the type of informal football played by young people in public spaces, in which coats or/and jumpers belonging to the players are used as improvised goalposts
Read More‘bladder-pack’: meanings and origins
Canada, 1977: pouch-pack milk, as opposed to cartoned milk—UK, 1984: bag-in-box wine (said to be of Australian-English origin, but this is not corroborated)
Read More‘oo-la-la land’: meaning and origin
a humorous appellation for France—USA, 1921—‘oo-la-la’ (from the French interjection ‘oh là là’) is stereotypically associated with France
Read More‘to throw out a tub to the whale’: meaning and origin
to create a diversion, in order to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation—UK, 1730—alludes to the Preface to A Tale of a Tub (1704), by Jonathan Swift
Read More‘to put lipstick on a pig’: meaning and origin
USA, 1959—to (seek to) make minor or superficial improvements to something considered fundamentally unappealing or inadequate
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