origin of ‘don’t spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar’
from ‘to lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar’—refers to the use of tar to protect sores and wounds on sheep from flies (‘sheep’ was pronounced ‘ship’)
Read MoreCategory: United Kingdom & Ireland
meaning and origin of ‘all Lombard Street to a China orange’
UK (early form: 1763): a fanciful bet wagering the wealth that is available in Lombard Street—a centre of London banking—against something of trifling value
Read More‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’ – ‘the Clapham Sect’
UK—1903: ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’, the average or typical person—1844: ‘the Clapham Sect’, a group of social reformers based at Clapham, London
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to wait for a dead man’s shoes’
mid-16th century—meaning: to wait for the death of a person with the expectancy of succeeding to his possessions or office; implies a futile wait
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘old school tie’
UK, 1929—the attitudes, loyalties, values, etc., associated with British public schools—from the distinctive tie that indicates which school the wearer attended
Read Morea 19th-century document on English phrases
remarks on English phrases (‘to rain cats and dogs’, ‘tit for tat’, ‘the devil to pay’, etc.) – from Notes and Queries (London), 9th November 1861
Read Moreorigin of ‘bedlam’: the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem
late Middle English—early form of ‘Bethlehem’, originally referring to the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, used as an institution for the insane
Read Morethe ancient origin of ‘to pour oil on troubled waters’
alludes to the calming effect of oil on the agitated surface of water; common knowledge since ancient times, first scientifically observed by Benjamin Franklin
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘like watching paint dry’
USA, 1959—‘like watching paint dry’ or ‘as —— as watching paint dry’:used to denote an extremely dull activity or experience
Read Morethe Romany origin of the British ‘chav’
UK, 1990s—either from Romany ‘čhavo’, an unmarried Romani male, a male Romani child, or from English or Anglo-Romany ‘chavvy’, a baby, a child
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word histories 