“ad fontes!”
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 MoreCanada, 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)
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a humorous appellation for France—USA, 1921—‘oo-la-la’ (from the French interjection ‘oh là là’) is stereotypically associated with France
Read Moreto 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 MoreUSA, 1959—to (seek to) make minor or superficial improvements to something considered fundamentally unappealing or inadequate
Read MoreAustralia, 1940 (?)—UK, 1963—origin unknown—either somehow derived from the sense ‘to be parched’ of the phrase ‘to spit feathers’ or a distinct phrase which happens to be identical in form
Read MoreUSA, 1850—based on the image of a thirsty person whose mouth is so parched that it feels as if it were filled with feathers and that the person thus feels choked
Read MoreUSA, 1892—severe but usually short-lived headache induced by the consumption of very cold food or drink
Read Moreto smoke tobacco very heavily —UK, 1824, as “smoking away like the chimney of the King of the Netherlands”
Read MoreUSA, 1874 & Britain, 1875: a commercial vehicle from which ice cream is sold, typically at the roadside—originally in Britain: typically at a fair
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