‘swellegant’: meaning and origin

25th Jul 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

USA, 1901—wonderfully stylish, elegant or fashionable—a blend of ‘swell’ and ‘elegant’—popularised by its use in the song Well, Did You Evah!, interpreted by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the 1956 film High Society

‘grotty’: meaning and origin

15th Jun 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

UK—a general term of disapproval, meaning ‘unpleasant’, ‘dirty’, ‘nasty’, ‘ugly’, etc.—shortened form of ‘grotesque’—first recorded in (and popularised by) A Hard Day’s Night (1964), a musical comedy film starring the Beatles

‘another brick in the wall’: meanings and origin

2nd Jun 2021.Reading time 11 minutes.

a small component of a much larger structure, system or process; an insignificant individual within a large population or community—commonly associated with ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, the title of a three-part composition by the British band Pink Floyd in their 1979 rock opera ‘The Wall’, but has been used since 1867

notes on phrases such as ‘nom de crinoline’ and ‘nom de freak’

29th Apr 2021.Reading time 19 minutes.

On the pattern of phrases such as ‘nom de guerre’, ‘nom de théâtre’ and ‘nom de plume’, ‘nom de —’ is used, often humorously, to form phrases denoting a pseudonym, an alternative name.

‘different strokes for different folks’: meaning and origin

1st Mar 2021.Reading time 9 minutes.

African-American, 1966—different things please or satisfy different people—‘stroke’ denotes a comforting gesture of approval or congratulation, and, by extension, a flattering or friendly remark

notes on the phrase ‘sing ’em muck’

21st Feb 2021.Reading time 17 minutes.

1928 in Clara Butt: Her Life-Story, by H. W. Ponder—“Sing ’em muck! It’s all they can understand!”: advice given by Australian soprano Nellie Melba to English contralto Clara Butt, who was about to undertake a tour of Australia

‘can a moose crochet?’: meaning and origin

22nd Dec 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

USA, 1967—emphatic negative phrase meaning ‘well, hardly’ or ‘no, that’s impossible’—used as the title of a jazz piece composed by Johnny Hodges—said to be a folk phrase that he had heard “out West”

‘the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings’: meaning and origin

21st Dec 2020.Reading time 25 minutes.

USA, 1976—the outcome of a situation cannot be assumed—may allude to the stereotype of a large female soprano singing the final aria of an opera—from ‘church ain’t out ’till the fat lady sings’ (1976), itself from ‘church ain’t out until the singing is over’ (1872)

‘singing milkshake’: meaning and origin

10th Nov 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

1979—nickname given, in particular, to singer Olivia Newton-John—alludes to the type of popular music that (like a milkshake) is discarded as soon as it has been consumed

‘La Stupenda’: meaning and origin

11th Oct 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

the nickname that the Venetian opera audience gave to Joan Sutherland when she sang Handel’s Alcina at the Fenice Theatre on 21 February 1960—Italian ‘è stupenda’ translates as ‘she is stupendous’