“ad fontes!”
MEANING The phrase to be barking up the wrong tree means to be pursuing a mistaken or misguided line of thought or course of action—cf. also origin of ‘gone coon’. ORIGIN In Americanisms, Old and New. A Dictionary of Words, Phrases and Colloquialisms peculiar to the United States, British America, the West Indies, […]
Read MoreThe phrase ‘pour encourager les autres’ (‘in order to encourage the others’) was coined by Voltaire with reference to the execution of Admiral John Byng in 1757.
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Notre Joffre (parody of the Lord’s Prayer) first published in 1914 in Le Radical de Marseille (75 refers to the French 75-mm field gun.) From 1914 to 1916, Joseph Joffre (1852-1931) was the commander in chief of the French armies on the Western Front. The following parody of the Lord’s Prayer is to be replaced […]
Read MoreMEANINGS – attractive articles of little value or use – practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth ORIGIN The noun trumpery, first recorded in the mid-15th century, is from the French noun tromperie, which means deception, trickery. This was one of the original meanings in […]
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THE HAT TRICK. ORGANISER OF GRACE TESTIMONIAL: — “I AM NOT DOING THIS TO GET ADVERTISEMENT; MY ONLY OBJECT IS TO HELP THIS POOR UNDERPAID CRICKETER!” caricature from The Entr’acte & Limelight (London) – 22nd June 1895 In 1895, a testimonial fund was set up for W. G. Grace (1848-1915), the Grand Old Man […]
Read MoreThe verb nail is used to mean to expose or reveal the falsehood of an allegation, assertion, etc., especially to prevent further dissemination. This use is first recorded in An Oration delivered at the Celebration in Philadelphia of the 106th Anniversary of the Birthday of Thomas Paine, by John Alberger, published in The North American […]
Read MoreThe phrase to miss the bus, or the boat, etc., means to be too slow to take advantage of an opportunity. In A Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1993), B. A. Phythian explained: This expression is said to originate in an Oxford story of the 1840s about John Henry Newman, fellow of Oriel College, […]
Read MoreThe phrase a skeleton at the feast, or at the banquet, denotes a person or event that brings gloom or sadness to an occasion of joy or celebration. This was originally an allusion to the practice of the ancient Egyptians, as recorded by the Greek biographer and philosopher Plutarch (circa 46-circa 120) in The Dinner of the Seven Wise […]
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A drawing of Peeping Tom, in the exact state in which he is carved, but divested of all paint and superfluous ornaments. W. Reader in The Gentleman’s Magazine: and Historical Chronicle (London) of July 1826 The Coventry Peeping Tom statue, which dates from around 1500, survives today. Though it is now stripped down to […]
Read MoreMEANING outside the limits of social convention ORIGIN The primary meanings of the noun pale are a wooden stake or post used with others to form a fence and a wooden fence made of stakes driven into the ground. This word appeared in the late 14th century and is from Anglo-Norman and Middle French pal, meaning a stake, a palisade, a […]
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