‘to smoke like a chimney’: meaning and origin
to smoke tobacco very heavily —UK, 1824, as “smoking away like the chimney of the King of the Netherlands”
Read MoreCategory: United Kingdom & Ireland
‘ice-cream van’: meaning and origin
USA, 1874 & Britain, 1875: a commercial vehicle from which ice cream is sold, typically at the roadside—originally in Britain: typically at a fair
Read More‘behind the bicycle-shed’: meaning and origin
refers to a school’s bicycle-shed as a place of seclusion in which pupils pursue prohibited activities such as fighting, smoking, etc.—1909—‘bicycle-shed’: a shed for storing bicycles when not in use
Read Moreoriginal meaning of ‘dead man’s float’
a floating position, used as a survival technique, consisting in lying on one’s back in the water—UK, 1841
Read More‘fug-soccer’: meaning and origin
indoor football—UK, public-school & university slang, 1897—‘fug’: a thick, close, stuffy atmosphere, especially that of a room overcrowded and with little or no ventilation
Read More‘to poison the wellspring’: meaning and origin
to corrupt the very essence (of something)—UK, early 19th century—has particularly been used in theological contexts
Read More‘reasonable force’: meaning and origin
UK, 1809—the level of physical force deemed appropriate or justifiable by law in protecting oneself or one’s family or property; also: in apprehending a criminal suspect or preventing a crime
Read Morenotes on ‘arsewipe’
(literally): anything used to wipe oneself clean after defecation; in later use chiefly toilet paper—(figuratively): a foolish or contemptible person
Read More‘kerb-crawl’: meaning and origin
to drive slowly along the edge of a road (UK, 1924)—specifically: with the intention of soliciting people for casual sexual activity (Canada, 1926)
Read More‘to rally round the flag’: meaning and origin
(of a group) to demonstrate loyalty to the nation or to a cause, especially at a time of perceived threat—UK, 1793, as ‘to rally round the standard’
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