‘damaged goods’ and venereal disease
1911—‘Damaged Goods’, translation of ‘Les Avariés’, by French dramatist Eugène Brieux, about the dangers of ignorance concerning sexually transmitted diseases
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origin of ‘old soldiers never die (they simply fade away)’
UK, 1913—from a British Army song (1908) parodying a hymn titled ‘Kind Words Can Never Die’ (USA, 1859)
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘don’t hurry, Hopkins!’
addressed to slow persons—1858—said to be from a promissory note in which a Kentuckian named Hopkins wrote it was agreed he was not to be hurried into paying
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘a penny bun costs twopence’
1911—expenses rise as soon as one marries or begins cohabiting, or even carries on a romantic relationship—antonym of ‘two can live as cheaply as one’
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire’
‘upstairs to bed’—UK, 1923: title of a song by Nixon Grey—‘Bedfordshire’ jocular extension of ‘bed’ (1665)—‘the wooden hill’ metaphor for ‘the stairs’ (1856)
Read Morehistory of ‘come up and see my etchings’
USA, early 20th century—used as an invitation to sexual dalliance—in 1937, William Hays’s censorship office apparently banned it in cinema films
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘booked any good Reds lately?’
USA, 1941—jocular alteration of the conversational gambit ‘read any good books lately?’ with reference to the investigations into alleged Communist activity
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘put that in your pipe and smoke it’
accept that fact if you can—1820: Irish English and associated with the obsolete figurative sense ‘to consider’ of the verb ‘smoke’
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘every picture tells a story’
used of images suggestive of real or imaginary events—UK and USA early 1900s: popularised by its use as an advertising slogan for Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills
Read More‘Is a bear Catholic?’ | ‘Does the Pope shit in the woods?’
USA, 1984—used to indicate that something is blatantly obvious—humorously from ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’ and ‘Does a bear shit in the woods?’
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word histories 