“ad fontes!”
the alleged duty of the white peoples to bring their civilisation to other peoples regarded as backward—USA, 1865—in early use, often referred to the relations between European Americans and African an Americans
Read Morethe far-reaching power or effect of coincidence—coined in 1888 by the Australian playwright Charles Haddon Chambers in Captain Swift
Read Moreto make the best use of one’s time—UK, 1810—alludes to Against Idleness and Mischief, in Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715), by Isaac Watts
Read Moreextremely hungry—circa 1623 as ‘(as) hungry as a huntsman’—1756 as ‘(as) hungry as a hunter’
Read MoreUK, 1774—just printed, newly published; hence: novel, exciting, sensational—since the 16th century, ‘hot’ has been used to mean: (of news or information): arriving soon after the event; hence: novel, exciting, sensational
Read Moredo not to discard winter clothes too soon—Britain, 1668—‘clout’: any piece of clothing—the original reference is to the end of the month of May and not to the appearance of spring blossom
Read MoreUK, 1802—to go without food, or have a meagre meal, in order to save money—perhaps from the verb ‘box’, meaning: to strike with the fist, and from the male forename ‘Harry’, designating the Devil
Read Morethe smaller, perceptible part of something which is evidently much larger—USA, 1912—refers to the fact that floating ice has about 88 per cent of its mass submerged—does not seem to refer to the sinking of the Titanic
Read MoreUK, 1935—a humorous self-contradictory phrase which includes the clichéd phrase ‘to avoid like the plague’ in order to express the necessity of avoiding clichés—as a piece of advice for writers, has itself become a cliché
Read MoreUSA 1920: ‘to have the brains of a goldfish’ (to have limited intelligence)—USA, 1958: ‘to have the memory of a goldfish’ (to be unable to retain information or memories for any significant length of time)
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word histories 