‘jigger-rabbit’: meaning and origin
Liverpool, England, 1966—an alley-cat—‘jigger’: a narrow passageway between the backs of urban terrace-houses
Read MoreCategory: United Kingdom & Ireland
‘sausage roll’: meaning and origin
UK, 1809—a roll of sausage-meat enveloped in a cover of flour paste, and cooked
Read More‘to fire on all cylinders’: meanings and origin
1906 (of a motor vehicle): to operate with maximum power, to function at its best—1907 (of a person or thing): to perform at peak level, to be on top form—conversely, 1910: ‘to miss/misfire on all cylinders’
Read More‘to throw one’s toys out of the pram’: meaning and origin
to behave childishly and petulantly, to throw a tantrum—UK, 1944—the image is of a baby throwing its toys out of its pram in a tantrum
Read More‘to avoid clichés like the plague’: meaning and origin
UK, 1935—a humorous self-contradictory phrase which includes the clichéd phrase ‘to avoid like the plague’ in order to express the necessity of avoiding clichés—as a piece of advice for writers, has itself become a cliché
Read More‘goldfish’ (as used of intelligence and of memory)
USA 1920: ‘to have the brains of a goldfish’ (to have limited intelligence)—USA, 1958: ‘to have the memory of a goldfish’ (to be unable to retain information or memories for any significant length of time)
Read More‘you can’t get the staff these days’: meaning and origin
UK, 1957—humorous—indicates that something has not been done or maintained properly, or that someone’s efforts have failed to meet expectations
Read More‘mountain dew’: meanings and origin
Britain, 1747: dew of the kind that settles on mountains—Scotland, 1816: whisky or other spirit, especially when home-made or illicit (originally in reference to whisky distilled in the Highlands, i.e., in the mountainous region of Scotland)
Read More‘scrapbook’: meaning and origin
UK, 1817—a blank book in which pictures, newspaper cuttings, and the like are pasted for preservation—hence also (UK, 1821) used as the title of a printed book of miscellaneous contents
Read Moreadditional notes on ‘beer o’clock’
a time at which it is considered acceptable or sociable to start drinking beer—used of various times of the day—USA, 1910
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