origin and early instances of ‘honky-tonk’ (cheap entertainment venue)
USA—probably a reduplication based on ‘honk’—appeared in Texas as the name of a theatre (1889) and of a variety show (1890)
Read MoreCategory: music
meaning and origin of ‘you ain’t seen/heard nothing yet’
USA—‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’, 1897—‘you ain’t heard nothing yet’, first used by singer and actor Al Jolson in 1916
Read Moreorigin of ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get(s) going’
USA, 1953—originally a motto adopted by football coaches—has often been used humorously with variation of the main clause
Read Morethe meanings and supposed origin of ‘I should cocoa’
UK slang, 1936—emphatic agreement, though often ironical—‘cocoa’ is said to be rhyming slang for ‘so’ in ‘I should say so’
Read Morea personal view on the ‘animal-friendly’ phrases suggested by PETA
Fundamentally, I object to the will of any group to artificially modify language in order to impose their world view.
Read Morethe early uses of ‘cool Britannia’ and their meanings
UK and Canada, from 1903 onwards—punningly alludes to ‘Rule Britannia’ (1740), the title of a popular patriotic song
Read Moremeaning and early instances of ‘memory lane’
an imaginary path through the nostalgically remembered past—USA, 1876, as ‘memory’s lane’ (‘memory’ in the genitive)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker’
UK, 1848—people of various professions; people of all kinds—alludes to ‘Rub a dub dub’, a nursery rhyme of the late 18th century
Read Morethe story of ‘John Lennon spectacles’
USA, 1967—metal-framed spectacles with small, round lenses—worn and popularised by the English singer, musician and songwriter John Lennon (1940-80)
Read Morethe authentic origin of the phrase ‘Elvis has left the building’
first used on 22 September 1956 in order to stop hysterical fans from pursuing Elvis Presley at the end of a concert at Toledo
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