‘more power to your elbow’: meaning and origin
Ireland, 1826—an expression of approval or support for a person who is involved in an activity that the speaker regards as praiseworthy
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‘more people know Tom Fool than Tom Fool knows’: meaning and origin
used in a situation in which someone is recognised by a person or persons whom he or she does not know or recognise—1722 in Colonel Jack, by Daniel Defoe—1656 with ‘the clown’ instead of ‘Tom Fool’
Read More‘grockle’: meaning, origin (?) and early occurrences
Southwest England—a tourist—first used in The System (1964), a British film written by Peter Draper and directed by Michael Winner—of uncertain origin
Read More‘an iron hand in a velvet glove’: meaning and origin
1815—inner ruthlessness and determination disguised in outward gentleness and courtesy—loan translation from French ‘une main de fer dans un gant de velours’ (1814)
Read More‘to iron out the wrinkles’: meaning and origin
USA, second half of the 19th century—to eliminate minor difficulties—the image is of removing the creases from a piece of fabric, using a hot iron
Read More‘to add insult to injury’: meaning and origin
UK, 1748, as ‘to add insult to injuries’—to act in a way that makes matters worse in a bad situation or when somebody has already been hurt or upset
Read More‘Beatlemania’: meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1963—with reference to the Beatles, a pop and rock group from Liverpool: the frenzied behaviour of the Beatles’ admirers; addiction to the Beatles and their characteristics
Read More‘pinky swear’: meaning and origin
USA—also ‘pinky promise’—a binding promise made while linking one’s little finger with that of another person—‘pinky’ designates the little finger
Read More‘a trout in the milk’: meaning and origin
highly convincing circumstantial evidence—USA, 1862—ascribed to Henry David Thoreau—refers to the practice of surreptitiously diluting milk with stream-water
Read More‘what has that got to do with the price of tea in China?’: meaning and origin
USA, 1930—a rhetorical question calling attention to a non-sequitur or irrelevant statement or suggestion made by another person—one of the phrases built on the pattern ‘what has that got to do with the price of ——?’
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