“ad fontes!”
1945—originally referred to anti-fascist committees in Germany at the end of, and immediately after, World War II—from German ‘Antifa’, shortened from ‘Antifaschismus’ (i.e., anti-fascism) and from ‘antifaschistisch’ (i.e., anti-fascist)
Read Morealso ‘hopeium’—a notional drug supposed to have been ingested by a person who maintains an unrealistically optimistic outlook—UK, 1864—a blend of ‘hope’ and ‘opium’
Read Moreany mistaken or illegitimate legal action—Australia, 1881—a punning variant of the phrase ‘the long arm of the law’ (also ‘the strong arm of the law’)
Read Morethe far-reaching, inescapable or punitive power and influence of the law—UK, 1788—from ‘strong arm’, designating far-reaching power and influence
Read Morethe far-reaching, inescapable or punitive power and influence of the law—UK, 1767, in a text by Jonas Hanway—from ‘long arm’, designating far-reaching power and influence
Read Moreto make the best use of one’s time—UK, 1810—alludes to Against Idleness and Mischief, in Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715), by Isaac Watts
Read MoreUK, mid-19th century—a self-important, pompous or pretentious woman or man—a title of nobility is sarcastically bestowed upon a woman or man who is regarded as muck, i.e., as contemptible, worthless
Read MoreUK, 1802—to go without food, or have a meagre meal, in order to save money—perhaps from the verb ‘box’, meaning: to strike with the fist, and from the male forename ‘Harry’, designating the Devil
Read Moreto live in concubinage—slang, northwestern England, 1822—refers to the noun ‘tally’ in the sense of one of two parts which fit and complete each other
Read Morea cold, windy, unpleasant weather—UK, 1848—refers to Liverpool, a port-city in Merseyside, historically in Lancashire, a county of northwestern England, on the Irish Sea
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