meaning and origin of the phrase ‘where’s your violin?’
USA, 1929—said to a man to mean ‘you need a haircut’—from the conventional image of male musicians wearing their hair long
Read MoreAuthor: Pascal Tréguer
the phrase ‘what else did you get for Christmas?’
USA, 1944—sarcastic remark used in exasperation at an impatient motorist who persistently toots their horn—likens the motorist to a child in a toy car
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘c’est la guerre’ (‘it can’t be helped’)
UK and USA, World War One—borrowing from French, literally ‘it is war’—expresses acceptance of, or resignation at, the situation engendered by war
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘(Lord) Kitchener wants you’
UK, 1914—from a poster showing Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, used in the recruitment campaign at the beginning of World War One
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘a licence to print money’
North America, 1943: used of owners of professional baseball teams—Britain, 1958: used of the franchises granted for running commercial television stations
Read Morethe phrase ‘muscles like sparrows’ kneecaps’
UK, 1922—(self-)disparagingly used of somebody’s physical strength—sometimes as a parody of ‘The Village Blacksmith’ (1840), by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read More‘Aunt Edna’ (typical theatregoer of conservative taste)
coined by the English playwright Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) in the preface to Volume 2 of ‘The Collected Plays of Terence Rattigan’ (1953)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘down the Swanee’
UK, 1926—completely lost or wasted—seems to allude to ‘Old Folks at Home’ (1851), also known as ‘Swanee River’, by the U.S. songwriter Stephen Foster
Read More‘great minds think alike’ | ‘les grands esprits se rencontrent’
English phrase (1728) preceded by ‘good wits jump’, i.e. ‘agree’ (1618)—French phrase (1775) preceded by ‘les beaux esprits se rencontrent’ (1686)
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘close your eyes and think of England’
France, 1954: purported advice given to English brides-to-be on how to cope with unwanted but inevitable sexual intercourse—but this occurs in a humoristic book
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