“ad fontes!”
Why is the element one in words such as alone and only not pronounced like the numeral one? Both the indefinite article an (a before consonant) and the numeral one are from Old English ān—which has survived in Scotland as ane, used both as indefinite article and as numeral. This Old-English word ān meant a/an, one, […]
Read MoreScotland, 1749—from the idea of daring to grab a lion’s “beard” and figurative uses of ‘beard’: (verb) ‘confront’ – (noun) ‘face’
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UK slang, 1936—emphatic agreement, though often ironical—‘cocoa’ is said to be rhyming slang for ‘so’ in ‘I should say so’
Read Morevery fast, or very hard—UK, 1942, RAF slang—alludes to the moving metal piece within a bell, which strikes it and produces the sound
Read MoreUK, 1948—USA, 1952—from the image of the over-cautious man who wears both a belt and braces/suspenders to hold up his trousers
Read MoreUSA, 1797—alludes to legendary outlaw Robin Hood—’barn’ (metaphor for the country as supply of food) was applied to any large space
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UK and Canada, from 1903 onwards—punningly alludes to ‘Rule Britannia’ (1740), the title of a popular patriotic song
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Contrary to what is claimed, ‘easy-peasy’ doesn’t seem to be of British origin, nor to be connected with the British washing-up liquid Sqezy.
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1893—to allow someone to get on with their task—originated in Wales with reference to fair-mindedness in sports
Read Morefrom Phormio, by the Roman dramatist Terence—appeared in English in the 1539 translation of Erasmus’s adages
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