“ad fontes!”
UK, 1851—a person (or persons) or a thing (or things) considered unattractive, inferior or unpleasant, compared to others of the same type or group—alludes to Cinderella’s ugly and unpleasant stepsisters in the fairy tale Cinderella
Read Morea person who overestimates their own influence—1661—alludes to the fable of a fly sitting on the axletree of a moving chariot and saying, “See what a dust I raise”
Read Morea person who behaves as if he or she knows everything—UK, colloquial, 1860—the irony of the expression lies in the fact that clogs are mere functional pedestrian objects
Read MoreUK, 1907: ‘to ghostwrite’ (to write a book, an article, etc., for another person, under whose name it is then published—USA, 1908: ‘ghostwriter’ (a person who ghostwrites)
Read MoreBritish, 1771—as an adjective: emaciated; weak and starving—as a noun: an emaciated or starving person
Read Morelooking or feeling ill or nauseated—1843, in a letter by Charles Dickens—when applied to a person, the plural noun ‘gills’ designates the flesh under the jaws and ears; also the cheeks
Read Morea bad-tempered, sullen person—UK, 1981—here, the noun ‘drawers’ means ‘underpants’
Read Moresaid of a great number of persons or things, especially when pressed against one another—UK, 1776—refers to herrings in a barrel
Read Morea container used to store for posterity a selection of objects thought to be representative of a particular moment in time—USA, 1938—coined to specifically designate the container built by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company for the 1939 New York World’s Fair
Read More1901—a look inviting sexual interest—hence, the adjective ‘bedroom-eyed’ (1925), which means: giving a look inviting sexual interest
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word histories 