‘behind the eight ball’: meaning and origin
stuck in a difficult situation, ‘snookered’—USA, 1923—refers to the situation in a game of eight ball in which a ball cannot be pocketed without also pocketing the eight ball
Read MoreCategory: etymology
‘the gift that keeps on giving’: meanings and origin
American English, early 20th century—primarily used of a present that delivers repeated enjoyment in the course of time—also sarcastically used of a person or situation constituting a recurring problem
Read Moreoriginal meaning of ‘dead man’s float’
a floating position, used as a survival technique, consisting in lying on one’s back in the water—UK, 1841
Read More‘skull-bucket’: meaning and origin
USA, 1968: colloquial humorous appellation for a crash-helmet—also, USA, 1942: protective head-covering worn by soldiers
Read More‘milk-bar cowboy’: meaning and origin
a young man who, as part of a motorcycle gang, congregates in or around a milk bar—New Zealand, 1951—such gangs congregate there because milk bars stay open long after the shops are shut
Read More‘fug-soccer’: meaning and origin
indoor football—UK, public-school & university slang, 1897—‘fug’: a thick, close, stuffy atmosphere, especially that of a room overcrowded and with little or no ventilation
Read More‘to poison the wellspring’: meaning and origin
to corrupt the very essence (of something)—UK, early 19th century—has particularly been used in theological contexts
Read More‘reasonable force’: meaning and origin
UK, 1809—the level of physical force deemed appropriate or justifiable by law in protecting oneself or one’s family or property; also: in apprehending a criminal suspect or preventing a crime
Read Morenotes on ‘arsewipe’
(literally): anything used to wipe oneself clean after defecation; in later use chiefly toilet paper—(figuratively): a foolish or contemptible person
Read More‘kerb-crawl’: meaning and origin
to drive slowly along the edge of a road (UK, 1924)—specifically: with the intention of soliciting people for casual sexual activity (Canada, 1926)
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