‘little man, you’ve had a busy day’: meaning and origin
USA, 1934—addressed, often with ironic pity, to someone who has had an arduous day—from very popular 1934 song, ‘Little Man, You’ve Had a Busy Day’
Read MoreCategory: etymology
‘little rabbits have big ears’: meaning and origin
children are inclined to eavesdrop; used as a warning (“children are listening”)—USA, 1901—perhaps a modification of synonymous ‘little pitchers have big ears’
Read Morethe birth of ‘little old ladies in tennis shoes’
USA, 1961—coined by Howard Jewel, Assistant Attorney General, Sacramento, California, as a description of female members of the John Birch Society
Read More‘look (mum, or ma), no hands!’: meaning and origin
used of something done cleverly—British and American—originated as the proud exclamation of a child riding a bicycle with no hands on the handlebars
Read More‘real George’: meaning and origin
fine—USA, 1950—probably coined by comedian Jerry Lester on the late-night television variety series Broadway Open House, telecast from 29 May 1950 onwards
Read Morehistory of ‘that schoolgirl complexion’
American English 1921–British and Irish English 1923—although it was already a cliché, ‘schoolgirl complexion’ was popularised by the advertising slogan for Palmolive Soap
Read More‘that Kruschen feeling’: meaning and origin
great vitality, enthusiasm and liveliness—UK, 1922—originally (from 1921 onwards) used in the advertisements for Kruschen Salts
Read Morenotes on ‘see you later, agitator’
USA, 1956—jocular variant of equally jocular ‘see you later, alligator’ (1952)—recoined on separate occasions by various persons, independently from one another
Read More‘to go to Lilywhite’s party’: meaning and origin
USA, 1887—of a child: to go to bed—‘Lilywhite’ refers to the whiteness of the bedsheets—from ‘lily-white’, meaning ‘white as a lily’, hence ‘of a pure white’
Read More‘you can’t tell the mind of a squid’: meaning and origin
Newfoundland, 1958—used of someone or something that is unreliable—refers to the fact that a squid moves backwards and forwards
Read More
word histories 