“ad fontes!”
UK, 1865—a Christmas-season party game in which players walk around a decreasing number of chairs while music is played, the loser in each round being the one who fails to find a seat when the music stops
Read More(chiefly humorous): a non-specific or hypothetical person, or a person whose name is unknown, forgotten or withheld—Australia, 1902—apparently an arbitrary formation
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not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
Read Morethe distinctive French players’ unconventional, creative and fast-paced style—UK, 1957—perhaps coined by the British sports journalist Michael Melford
Read MoreUSA, 1871—is used of any incentive or reward that is perpetually promised but never actually delivered—refers to a sign displayed as an advertisement for a barber’s shop
Read MoreUSA, 1889—is used of any incentive or reward that is perpetually promised but never actually delivered—refers to a sign displayed as an advertisement for a pub
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UK, 1770—as ‘Nero fiddled whilst Rome was burning’, in a swipe at King George III, by John Horne
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UK, 1834—an old cry used at fairs, the showman promising his audience that as soon as enough pennies are collected, his donkey will balance itself on the top of a ladder
Read Moreoriginally in reference to rural life as opposed to urban life—American English, 1907—the influence of a particular place or situation on the character of a person or thing cannot be eradicated by removing the person or thing from the place or situation in question
Read Morethe alleged duty of the white peoples to bring their civilisation to other peoples regarded as backward—USA, 1865—in early use, often referred to the relations between European Americans and African an Americans
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word histories 