‘coffee royal’ | ‘café royale’: meaning and origin
a drink made from black coffee and brandy, cognac or other liquor—‘royale’ means: first-rate—‘café royale’ (USA, 1882): probably a Frenchification of earlier ‘coffee royal’
Read More“ad fontes!”
a drink made from black coffee and brandy, cognac or other liquor—‘royale’ means: first-rate—‘café royale’ (USA, 1882): probably a Frenchification of earlier ‘coffee royal’
Read MoreUSA, 1974, as ‘royale kir’—a drink made from champagne, or sparkling white wine, and crème de cassis—from ‘kir’ (a drink made from dry white wine and crème de cassis) and ‘royale’ (first-rate)
Read MoreCanada, 1985—one who is born into the Anglican Church (i.e., an Anglican ‘from the cradle’)
Read MoreUK, 1904—refers to the action of making someone stop chattering—from the colloquial imperative phrase ‘cut the cackle (and come to the horses)’, meaning: stop talking (and get to the heart of the matter)
Read MoreUK, 1930—one who is born into the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., a Catholic ‘from the cradle’)
Read More‘stop talking (and get to the heart of the matter)’—UK, 1878—said to have been coined by circus proprietor Andrew Ducrow when apostrophising equestrian performers
Read Morea person’s mouth—U.S. slang, 1983
Read Morea person’s mouth—British-Army slang, 1916
Read MoreYorkshire & Lancashire, 19th century—wisdom, a witty remark, etc., which occurs to a person after the event, typically too late to be of use
Read Morealso ‘moustache of milk’—UK, 1872—a white residue, resembling a growth of hair above the upper lip, left after drinking milk
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