‘between a rock and a hard place’: meaning and origin
faced with two equally difficult alternatives; in a dilemma—USA, 1914
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‘what can you expect from a hog but a grunt?’: meaning and early occurrences
meaning: a person cannot be expected to behave in a manner that is not in their character—numerous variants—first recorded in 1731 as ‘If we petition a Hog, what can we expect but a grunt’
Read More‘(as) independent as a hog on ice’: meaning and origin
(humorous and frequently ironic) determinedly or stubbornly independent—USA, 1841—apparently refers to the extreme helplessness of a hog (i.e., a pig) on the ice
Read More‘holier-than-thou’: meaning and origin
self-righteously or sanctimoniously virtuous, or professing to be so—UK, 1834—alludes to the Book of Isaiah, 65:5: “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.”
Read More‘pig in a python’: meanings and origin
Canada, 1970—the people who were born during the ‘baby boom’ of the years immediately following WWII, considered as a demographic bulge—any short-term increase or notably large group
Read More‘Guardianista’: meaning and origin
a reader of, or a writer in, The Guardian, seen as being typically left-wing, liberal and politically correct—UK, 1997—The Guardian is a centre-left newspaper published in London and Manchester, England
Read More‘food for powder’: meaning and origin
soldiers, especially low-ranking recruits, collectively regarded as expendable in war—UK, 1740—coined by William Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part 1 (1598)
Read More‘cannon fodder’ | ‘chair à canon’
soldiers regarded simply as material to be expended in war—‘cannon fodder’ (1847), said to have been coined after German ‘Kanonenfutter’—French ‘chair à canon’ (1814), first used in reference to Napoléon Bonaparte
Read More‘wokerati’: meaning and origin
USA, 2019, derogatory—people (regarded as elitist and pretentious) who are alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice—a blend of the adjective ‘woke’ and of the noun ‘literati’
Read More‘honest Injun’: meaning and origin
used as an interjection to assert truthfulness, honour or sincerity—USA, 1851, as ‘honest Indian’—perhaps alludes to the fact that, in their past interactions with Europeans, Native Americans had to give assurance of their good faith
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