“ad fontes!”
of a person or thing: irretrievably defunct or out of date—UK, 1905—perhaps originally in allusion to ‘Diplodocus Carnegii’, named after Andrew Carnegie, who, that year, presented the skeleton of that diplodocus to the Natural History Museum of London
Read Morechildren, especially siblings, should not argue among themselves—UK, 1818—alludes to Love between Brothers and Sisters, in Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715), by Isaac Watts
Read Moreexceedingly or immeasurably old—Britain, 1762—perhaps alludes to the fact that a hill is a permanent feature of a particular landscape
Read More(chiefly humorous): a non-specific or hypothetical person, or a person whose name is unknown, forgotten or withheld—Australia, 1902—apparently an arbitrary formation
Read Moreto abandon all thought of making peace—1658—originally in the proverb ‘who draws his sword against his prince, must throw away the scabbard’ and variants
Read MoreAustralia, 1914—to leave indisputable evidence of one’s involvement in an affair, endeavour, etc.—‘fingerprint’: an impression made on a surface by the tip of a person’s finger, as used in criminal investigations
Read Moreto engage in pointless or futile activity in the face of disaster—USA, 1969—apparently first used, and perhaps coined, by Elizabeth Carpenter, press secretary for the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson
Read Morethe principle that, where an effective legal system is absent or does not apply, brute strength and self-interested ruthlessness are what determine success, ownership, etc.—USA, 1878—predates Kipling’s Jungle book
Read MoreCanada, 1985—one who is born into the Anglican Church (i.e., an Anglican ‘from the cradle’)
Read MoreUK, 1930—one who is born into the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., a Catholic ‘from the cradle’)
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word histories 