‘(as) old as the hills’: meaning and early occurrences
exceedingly or immeasurably old—Britain, 1762—perhaps alludes to the fact that a hill is a permanent feature of a particular landscape
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‘like a cock at a gooseberry’: meaning and origin
very quickly and without hesitation; eagerly—Scotland and northern England, 1778
Read More‘bathroom humour’: meaning and origin
crude humour centring chiefly on bodily functions—USA, 1931
Read More‘not the only onion in the hash’: meaning and origin
not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
Read More‘the white man’s burden’: meaning and origin
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 More‘the long arm of coincidence’: meaning and origin
the far-reaching power or effect of coincidence—coined in 1888 by the Australian playwright Charles Haddon Chambers in Captain Swift
Read More‘to improve the shining hour’: meaning and origin
to 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 More‘(as) hungry as a hunter’: meaning and origin
extremely hungry—circa 1623 as ‘(as) hungry as a huntsman’—1756 as ‘(as) hungry as a hunter’
Read More‘hot from the press’: meaning and origin
UK, 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 More‘ne’er cast a clout till May is out’: meaning and origin
do 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
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word histories 