“ad fontes!”
UK—‘a legend in your lifetime’ (1913): allegedly said by Benjamin Jowett to Florence Nightingale—‘a legend in his own lunchtime’ (1969): first recorded in a theatrical review by John Cunningham
Read Morea Latin-American country that is politically unstable because its economy, controlled by U.S. capital, wholly depends on the export of bananas
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USA, 1940—alert and lively—originated in the conventional image of a healthy, spirited squirrel or other animal
Read MoreUK, 1820—to show willingness to enter into a contest or take up a challenge, especially in business or politics—originally (1804) used in boxing with reference to the custom of throwing a hat into the ring to signal willingness to enter a contest
Read MoreThe adjective ‘living’ is an intensifier, and ‘daylights’ is an 18th-century slang term for ‘eyes’ chiefly used in contexts of physical violence or threats.
Read MoreUnnamed cocktails consisting of vodka and tomato juice became fashionable in the 1930s before the name ‘Bloody Mary’ was coined in November 1939.
Read Morepayday—UK, 1831, theatrical slang—from ‘Hamlet’, where Horatio asks the Ghost if he walks because he has “hoorded treasure in the wombe of earth”
Read More18th-century instances of ‘Indian summer’ in addition to the earliest one—including a 1791 figurative use of the term
Read Morefirst recorded in The Biglow Papers (1848), by American author James Russell Lowell—based on the notion of leaving one’s hat behind in a rush of impetuosity
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word histories 