‘hopium’: meaning and origin
also ‘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 More‘the wrong arm of the law’: meaning and origin
any 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 More‘the long arm of coincidence’: meaning and origin
the far-reaching power or effect of coincidence—coined in 1888 by the Australian playwright Charles Haddon Chambers in Captain Swift
Read More‘the strong arm of the law’: meaning and origin
the far-reaching, inescapable or punitive power and influence of the law—UK, 1788—from ‘strong arm’, designating far-reaching power and influence
Read More‘the long arm of the law’: meaning and origin
the 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 More‘the old woman is plucking her geese’: meaning and origin
it is snowing—UK, 1842—snowflakes are likened to white feathers—goose-plucking seems to have been associated with old women
Read More‘to improve the shining hour’: meaning and origin
to 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 More‘(as) hungry as a hunter’: meaning and origin
extremely hungry—circa 1623 as ‘(as) hungry as a huntsman’—1756 as ‘(as) hungry as a hunter’
Read More‘to live on one’s hump’: meaning and origin
late 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‘hot from the press’: meaning and origin
UK, 1774—just printed, newly published; hence: novel, exciting, sensational—since the 16th century, ‘hot’ has been used to mean: (of news or information): arriving soon after the event; hence: novel, exciting, sensational
Read More
word histories 