“ad fontes!”
1945—originally referred to anti-fascist committees in Germany at the end of, and immediately after, World War II—from German ‘Antifa’, shortened from ‘Antifaschismus’ (i.e., anti-fascism) and from ‘antifaschistisch’ (i.e., anti-fascist)
Read Morealso ‘hopeium’—a notional drug supposed to have been ingested by a person who maintains an unrealistically optimistic outlook—UK, 1864—a blend of ‘hope’ and ‘opium’
Read Moreany mistaken or illegitimate legal action—Australia, 1881—a punning variant of the phrase ‘the long arm of the law’ (also ‘the strong arm of the law’)
Read Morethe far-reaching power or effect of coincidence—coined in 1888 by the Australian playwright Charles Haddon Chambers in Captain Swift
Read Morethe far-reaching, inescapable or punitive power and influence of the law—UK, 1788—from ‘strong arm’, designating far-reaching power and influence
Read Morethe far-reaching, inescapable or punitive power and influence of the law—UK, 1767, in a text by Jonas Hanway—from ‘long arm’, designating far-reaching power and influence
Read Moreit is snowing—UK, 1842—snowflakes are likened to white feathers—goose-plucking seems to have been associated with old women
Read Moreto make the best use of one’s time—UK, 1810—alludes to Against Idleness and Mischief, in Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715), by Isaac Watts
Read Moreextremely hungry—circa 1623 as ‘(as) hungry as a huntsman’—1756 as ‘(as) hungry as a hunter’
Read Morelate 19th century—to be self-sufficient, to operate from resources accumulated earlier—refers to the ability of a camel to survive for long periods without food or water by drawing on the store of nourishment contained in its hump
Read More
word histories 