“ad fontes!”
UK, 1935—a humorous self-contradictory phrase which includes the clichéd phrase ‘to avoid like the plague’ in order to express the necessity of avoiding clichés—as a piece of advice for writers, has itself become a cliché
Read MoreUSA, 1882—one’s boots or feet as a means of travel, humorously represented as a form of public transport—refers to boots with hobnails inserted into the soles
Read MoreUK, early 19th century, derogatory—used attributively of a journalist who was paid at the rate of a penny a line, hence also of low-quality writing
Read MoreAustralia & UK, 1856—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read MoreUK, 1930—one who is born into the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., a Catholic ‘from the cradle’)
Read MoreUK, 1866, sailors’ slang: a straw mattress—Australia, 1884: a straw hat—in reference to donkeys’ diet
Read MoreAustralia, 1957—to gain weight around one’s middle
Read Moreone who rides a surfboard with the right foot forward instead of the left—USA, 1960 (as a verb)—here, ‘goofy’ seems to be related to prejudice against left-handedness and left-footedness
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1910s—a ship designed to carry submarines—likens the submarines carried in such ships to the immature young nursed in the abdominal pouch of female kangaroos
Read More1910: a cheap and common watch—hence (from 1922 onwards) used in various phrases referring to silliness, reliability/unreliability, erraticism, cheapness, funniness
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