‘in two shakes of a lamb’s tail’: meaning and origin
very soon or very quickly—USA, 1836, in a text attributed to Davy Crockett—alludes to the friskiness of lambs
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‘sword of Damocles’: meaning and origin
1625—an imminent danger—alludes to Damocles, a courtier of ancient Syracuse, who was given a lesson in the perils to a ruler’s life when forced to sit under a naked sword hanging by a single hair
Read MoreIs ‘(as) right as a trivet’ an alteration of ‘(as) tight as a rivet’?
It has been said that ‘(as) right as a trivet’ an alteration of ‘(as) tight as a rivet’. But the latter phrase, which postdates the former, originally meant ‘extremely tight’, not ‘thoroughly or perfectly right’.
Read More‘empleomania’: meaning and origin
mania for holding public office—USA, 1829—a borrowing from Spanish ‘empleomanía’, from ‘empleo’ (i.e., ‘employment’) and the suffix ‘‑manía’ (i.e., ‘-mania’)
Read More‘scenester’: meaning and origin
1974: a person who tries to fit into a particular cultural scene—1970: an actor who performs a minor role in a stage play—from ‘scene’ and the suffix ‘‑ster’, forming agent nouns
Read More‘demonagerie’: meaning and origin
a menagerie of demons—UK, 1848—a blend of the nouns ‘demon’ and ‘menagerie’
Read More‘ashtray breath’: meaning and origin
foul-smelling breath caused by smoking—USA, 1931, in advertisements for Old Golds, a U.S. brand of cigarettes
Read More‘blandification’: meaning and origin
USA, 1969—the action or process of becoming or being made plain, ordinary, uninteresting or insipid—from the adjective ‘bland’ and the suffix ‘‑ification’, forming nouns of action
Read More‘sandcastle’: meanings and origin
UK, 1833: a small castle-like structure made of wet sand, as by children on a beach—UK, 1837: a plan or idea with little substance
Read More‘White-Van Man’: meaning and origin
UK, derogatory—a male van driver, often of a white van, whose driving is selfish and aggressive—1997, in a report issued by the Freight Transport Association
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