‘Kiwiness’: meaning and origin
the quality or fact of being from New Zealand; characteristics regarded as typical of New Zealand or New Zealanders—coined in 1967 by the U.S. Professor of Psychology Eugene Leonard Hartley
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‘Z-car’: meaning and origin
a police patrol car—UK, 1959—originally any of the special crime police patrol cars used in Lancashire—from the radio call-sign ‘Z’ allotted to such cars—popularised by the British television series ‘Z Cars’ (1962-78)
Read Moremore on French ‘femmicide’ & early occurrences of English ‘femicide’
the killing of a woman or girl by a man—French ‘femmicide’: 1839; 1854 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman—English ‘femicide’: 1801; 1827 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman
Read More‘cowyard confetti’ and variants: meaning and origin
Australia, 1932—also ‘Flemington confetti’ (1933) and ‘farmyard confetti’ (1967)—bullshit (i.e., nonsense, rubbish)—also occasionally used literally in the sense of faeces
Read More‘back of an envelope’: meaning and origin
USA, 1931—indicates that something has been formulated or devised hurriedly, roughly or carelessly, as though sketched or scribbled on the back of an envelope
Read More‘mischief night’: original meaning
Yorkshire & Lancashire (northern England), first half of the 19th century—the evening of 30th April (May Eve), on which people traditionally indulged in mischievous pranks
Read More‘back of a napkin’: meaning and origin
USA, 1972—indicates that something has been formulated or devised hurriedly, roughly or carelessly, as though sketched or scribbled on the back of a napkin—also with ‘cocktail napkin’
Read More‘back of a cigarette packet’: meaning and origin
UK, 1967—indicates that something has been formulated or devised hurriedly, roughly or carelessly, as though sketched or scribbled on the back of a cigarette packet
Read More‘nice little earner’: meaning and origin
UK, 1982—a profitable undertaking, especially one that is not strenuous or demanding—popularised by the British television series Minder (1979-1989)
Read More‘to rattle one’s dags’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1968—to hurry up—‘dags’: clumps of matted wool and dung which hang around a sheep’s rear end—the allusion is to the rattling sound of a sheep’s dags when it runs
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word histories 