‘grumpy-drawers’: meaning and origin
a bad-tempered, sullen person—UK, 1981—here, the noun ‘drawers’ means ‘underpants’
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‘(as) thick as herrings’: meaning and origin
said of a great number of persons or things, especially when pressed against one another—UK, 1776—refers to herrings in a barrel
Read More‘time capsule’: meaning and origin
a 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 More‘bedroom eyes’: meaning and origin
1901—a look inviting sexual interest—hence, the adjective ‘bedroom-eyed’ (1925), which means: giving a look inviting sexual interest
Read More‘summerise’: original meaning and early occurrences
(intransitive): to spend the summer—UK, 1797, in the following title: The Sea Side, a Poem, in a Series of familiar Epistles, from Mr. Simkin Slenderwit, summerising at Ramsgate, to his dear Mother in Town
Read More‘maneki-neko’: meaning and origin
a Japanese figurine of a sitting cat beckoning with one raised paw, traditionally believed to bring good luck—USA, 1894—from Japanese ‘maneku’ (to invite by beckoning, especially with the hand) and ‘neko’ (a cat)
Read More‘brain rot’: meaning and origin
a perceived loss of intelligence or critical thinking skills—apparently coined after ‘potato rot’ by the U.S. author Henry David Thoreau in Walden; Or, Life in the Woods (1854)
Read More‘the game is not worth the candle’: meaning and origin
the returns from an activity or undertaking do not warrant the time, money or effort required—calque of French ‘le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle’—1603, in John Florio’s translation of Montaigne’s Essays
Read More‘it is the thought that counts’: meaning and origin
the value to the recipient of a gift lies in the goodwill or affection with which the gift is given—USA, 1885—originally in reference to the Christmas season
Read More‘to have come down in the last shower’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1877, & Australia, 1878—to be inexperienced, to be gullible
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