the emergence of the political term ‘whataboutism’ in 1978
The Guardian, UK, 23 May 1978—used by one Lionel Bloch to designate—and denounce—the rhetoric employed by the advocates of the communist regimes
Read MoreCategory: Australia & New Zealand
meaning and origin of the phrase ‘tall poppy’
UK, 1816—successful person attracting envious hostility—from Tarquin’s decapitation of the tallest poppies to indicate the fate of enemies
Read Moreorigin of the phrase ‘been there, done that (and got the T-shirt)’
Australia, 1980—seems to have originated in a 1979 tribute song to the Australian cricketer and cricket commentator Alan McGilvray
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘Matthew effect’ and of ‘Matthew principle’
USA, 1960s—those who already have will receive more—refers to gospel of Matthew—coined by sociologist Robert King Merton
Read Moreorigin of the Irish-English phrase ‘up the pole’ (‘pregnant’)
probably refers to pregnancy as an awkward condition, the image being apparently of an uncomfortable position at the top of a pole
Read Moreorigin of ‘Bananaland’, colloquial Australian name for Queensland
Australia, 1880—from the fact that bananas grow in abundance in Queensland (a state comprising the north-eastern part of Australia)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to have straws in one’s hair’
to be insane—late 19th century—originated in the fact that in 19th-century productions of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, Ophelia appeared with straws in her hair in her ‘mad scene’
Read Moremeaning and earliest instances of ‘bums on seats’
UK, 1967—chiefly British—‘bums on seats’: the members of an audience, at a theatre, cinema or other place of entertainment, especially when viewed as a source of income
Read More‘to fall off (the back of) a lorry’ (‘to be stolen’)
UK, 1953, humorous and euphemistic—‘to fall off (the back of) a lorry’: of goods, ‘to be acquired in dubious or unspecified circumstances’, especially ‘to be stolen’—variant with ‘truck’ came into use later in Australian and North American English
Read More‘all behind, like a cow’s tail’ (left behind, late)
The phrase ‘all behind, like a cow’s tail’ and its variants mean ‘left behind’ and ‘late in accomplishing a task’. They appeared in print in the mid-19th century in the USA, Australia and Britain.
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