‘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
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‘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
Read More‘couldn’t train a choko vine over a country dunny’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1969—is used of an ineffectual person—‘choko’ (i.e., ‘chayote’): the cucumber-like fruit of a cucurbitaceous vine (‘Sechium edule’)
Read More‘girlboss’: meaning and origin
an entrepreneurial, ambitious woman; especially one who runs her own business—USA, 1895
Read More‘like a duck takes to water’: meaning and origin
easily, readily—UK, 1825
Read More‘galah session’: meanings and origin
Australia, 1948—a period allocated for private conversation, especially between women on isolated stations, over an outback radio network—by extension (1967): any long chat—‘galah’: a very common Australian cockatoo
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