“ad fontes!”
UK, 1820—to show willingness to enter into a contest or take up a challenge, especially in business or politics—originally (1804) used in boxing with reference to the custom of throwing a hat into the ring to signal willingness to enter a contest
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‘in this day and age’ (‘at the present time’)—USA, 1832—tautology, that is to say, ‘day’ and ‘age’ are synonymous, ‘day’ meaning ‘a period of time’
Read Morecoined as ‘tired and overwrought’ in ‘Private Eye’ (London) of 29 September 1967 about British Labour politician George Brown (1914-85)
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based on the notion of execution by beheading—popularised by a literal threat of executions made on 25th September 1930 by Adolf Hitler
Read MoreUSA—‘hatchet man’ (1874): a hired Chinese assassin using a hatchet or cleaver—‘hatchet work’ (1895): a murder carried out by a hatchet man
Read Moreattested in the Later Version (1395) of the Wycliffe Bible—‘ghost’ means ‘the soul or spirit, as the principle of life’
Read Morefrom Old French and Anglo-Norman ‘aveir de peis’, ‘goods of weight’, as distinguished from the goods sold by measure or number
Read MoreUSA, 1891—a passenger in the rear seat of a car who gives the driver unwanted advice; hence, figuratively, a person who is eager to advise without responsibility
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USA, 1929—‘you and whose army?’, or ‘you and what army?’: used to question a person’s ability to carry out a threat or challenge unaided
Read MoreUSA, 1920—‘(as) American as apple pie’: typically American in character—‘apple pie’ being here a symbol of American motherhood and traditional family values
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