‘prophet of doom’: meanings and origin
UK, 1809—a person who predicts disaster, a doomsayer—also: a person who is (especially unduly) pessimistic about the future
Read More“ad fontes!”
UK, 1809—a person who predicts disaster, a doomsayer—also: a person who is (especially unduly) pessimistic about the future
Read MoreUSA, 1956—diarrhoea suffered by travellers, originally and especially in Mexico—borrowed from Spanish ‘turista’, translating as ‘tourist’
Read MoreUSA, 1871: a person who frequently uses or coins slang words and phrases—USA, 1926: a person who studies the use and historical development of slang—blend of the nouns ‘slang’ and ‘linguist’
Read Moreone of the German air raids in 1942 on places of cultural and historical importance in Britain—from ‘Baedeker’: any of a series of guidebooks to foreign countries, issued by the German publisher Karl Baedeker (1801-1859) and his successors
Read More16th century: a plant of the most familiar or frequently occurring kind, especially one that is cultivated—hence, figuratively, 19th century: something ordinary or usual for its type
Read MoreUK—the noun ‘pig’s ear’ is colloquially used to designate a mess, a botched job—probably a euphemism for ‘pig’s arse’
Read MoreUK—a ball game for three players, in which the middle player tries to intercept the ball as it passes between the other two—hence: a person, party, etc., caught between others in a conflict, dispute, etc.
Read MoreUSA, 1862—coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson: to set oneself high aspirations—later also: to advance one’s ambitions by associating oneself with somebody more successful or powerful
Read MoreUK Parliament, 1902: rapid verbal exchanges between two parties—Queensland Parliament, 1902: the to and fro of amendments to bills between two Houses of Parliament
Read Morethe use of books for therapeutic purposes, especially in the treatment of mental health conditions—USA, 1914—coined by essayist and Unitarian minister Samuel McChord Crothers (1857-1927)
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