‘jigger-rabbit’: meaning and origin
Liverpool, England, 1966—an alley-cat—‘jigger’: a narrow passageway between the backs of urban terrace-houses
Read More‘to leave one’s fingerprints all over something’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1914—to leave indisputable evidence of one’s involvement in an affair, endeavour, etc.—‘fingerprint’: an impression made on a surface by the tip of a person’s finger, as used in criminal investigations
Read More‘sweet as’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1985—adjective—a general term of approval, meaning: excellent, fantastic, great—frequently used as an interjection expressing emphatic affirmation, agreement or appreciation
Read More‘fluffy dice’: meaning and origin
California, 1956—a pair of large imitation dice made from fluffy, fur-like material, designed to be hung inside a vehicle’s windscreen from the rear-view mirror
Read More‘sausage roll’: meaning and origin
UK, 1809—a roll of sausage-meat enveloped in a cover of flour paste, and cooked
Read More‘air quotes’: meaning and origin
a notional set of quotation marks gestured by a speaker’s fingers in the air, to indicate that what is being said is ironic, mocking, etc.—USA, 1989
Read More‘to fire on all cylinders’: meanings and origin
1906 (of a motor vehicle): to operate with maximum power, to function at its best—1907 (of a person or thing): to perform at peak level, to be on top form—conversely, 1910: ‘to miss/misfire on all cylinders’
Read More‘to throw one’s toys out of the pram’: meaning and origin
to behave childishly and petulantly, to throw a tantrum—UK, 1944—the image is of a baby throwing its toys out of its pram in a tantrum
Read More‘Titanic’: figurative uses in reference to the RMS Titanic
something likened to the RMS Titanic in being vast and supposedly indestructible yet heading inevitably towards disaster—USA & Australia, May 1912, in the phrase ‘political Titanic’
Read More‘to rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic’: meaning and origin
to engage in pointless or futile activity in the face of disaster—USA, 1969—apparently first used, and perhaps coined, by Elizabeth Carpenter, press secretary for the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson
Read More
word histories 