meaning and origin of the term ‘éminence grise’
UK, 1877—a person who wields unofficial power and influence—originally applied to Père Joseph (François Leclerc du Tremblay), French friar, confidential agent of Cardinal Richelieu
Read MoreCategory: public affairs
meaning and origin of ‘Comstockism’ and ‘Comstockery’
USA—‘Comstockism’ 1878, ‘Comstockery’ 1889—strict censorship of materials considered obscene—after anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock (1844-1915)
Read Moreorigin and sense development of the verb ‘shanghai’
USA—1853 to kidnap for service aboard ship—seems to have originated in San Francisco—refers to Shanghai in China, the ships in question going to eastern Asia
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘sentence first (and) verdict afterwards’
UK, 1869—used to denounce arbitrariness—alludes to a demand by the Queen of Hearts during the trial of the Knave of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
Read Moremeanings and origin of the phrase ‘good cop, bad cop’
USA, 1969—a method alternating kindness with harshness—from a police interrogation technique in which one officer is aggressive while the other is sympathetic
Read Moremeaning and origin of the adjective ‘Capraesque’
UK, 1939—characteristic of, or similar in spirit to, the films of the Italian-born American film director Frank Capra (1897-1991)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British term ‘(Colonel) Blimp’
1934—pompous, reactionary type of person—from the cartoon character (a pompous retired British army officer voicing a hatred of new ideas) created by David Low
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘Barmecide feast’
UK, 1823—pretended or illusory generosity or hospitality—from the name of a prince in The Arabian Nights, who gave a beggar a feast consisting of empty dishes
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘not in Kansas anymore’
USA, 1971—in dramatically changed circumstances—said by Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) when realising she has been transported from Kansas to the land of Oz
Read Moreorigin of ‘no-go area’: the Troubles in Northern Ireland
1969 as ‘No Go Land’, proper name of a Catholic ghetto in Belfast—1970 as ‘no-go area’, any Northern-Irish area to which entry was restricted or forbidden
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