“ad fontes!”
USA, 1923: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may sentence themself and their fellow offenders—USA, 1925: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may pay a fixed fine without having to stand trial
Read Moresomething or someone that is unalloyed, throughgoing, trustworthy—USA, 1848—refers to gold with the complete purity of twenty-four parts out of twenty-four
Read Morethe best produce from a harvest—hence: the best of a group of people or things—UK, 1828—from ‘cream’ (i.e., the most excellent element or part)
Read MoreUSA, 1836—one is governed by one’s feelings rather than by rational or practical considerations
Read Moreas ‘coats for goalposts’: UK, late 19th century—refers to the type of informal football played by young people in public spaces, in which coats or/and jumpers belonging to the players are used as improvised goalposts
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a humorous appellation for France—USA, 1921—‘oo-la-la’ (from the French interjection ‘oh là là’) is stereotypically associated with France
Read Moreto create a diversion, in order to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation—UK, 1730—alludes to the Preface to A Tale of a Tub (1704), by Jonathan Swift
Read MoreUSA, 1959—to (seek to) make minor or superficial improvements to something considered fundamentally unappealing or inadequate
Read MoreAustralia, 1940 (?)—UK, 1963—origin unknown—either somehow derived from the sense ‘to be parched’ of the phrase ‘to spit feathers’ or a distinct phrase which happens to be identical in form
Read MoreUSA, 1850—based on the image of a thirsty person whose mouth is so parched that it feels as if it were filled with feathers and that the person thus feels choked
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