history of ‘money tree’ and ‘to shake the money tree’
‘money tree’ (UK, 1749): a source of easily obtained or unlimited money—‘to shake the money tree’ (UK, 1851)—related to proverb ‘money does not grow on trees’
Read MoreCategory: public affairs
meaning and origin of the phrase “’arf a mo’, Kaiser!”
“half a moment, Kaiser!”—1914 as the caption to a drawing by Bert Thomas, published in the Weekly Dispatch (London) to advertise a tobacco fund for soldiers
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘given away with a pound of tea’
UK, 1881—used of something considered tawdry—from the grocers’ former practice of making a free gift with every pound of tea or with any fair-sized order
Read MoreThe Guardian’s mystery man’s adventures
1983—a mystery man whom the British journalist Alan Rusbridger challenged (as a prank) The Guardian’s readers to identify in order to claim a £10 book token
Read Morehistory of the British name ‘Chalkie White’
1973—a mystery man the Daily Mirror has challenged its readers to identify in order to claim prize money—‘Chalkie’ typical epithet for people surnamed ‘White’
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘count the spoons!’
said as a jest after the departure of a person or persons regarded as untrustworthy—apparently coined by the English lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘c’est la guerre’ (‘it can’t be helped’)
UK and USA, World War One—borrowing from French, literally ‘it is war’—expresses acceptance of, or resignation at, the situation engendered by war
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘(Lord) Kitchener wants you’
UK, 1914—from a poster showing Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, used in the recruitment campaign at the beginning of World War One
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘a licence to print money’
North America, 1943: used of owners of professional baseball teams—Britain, 1958: used of the franchises granted for running commercial television stations
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘down the Swanee’
UK, 1926—completely lost or wasted—seems to allude to ‘Old Folks at Home’ (1851), also known as ‘Swanee River’, by the U.S. songwriter Stephen Foster
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word histories 