meanings of ‘the answer to a maiden’s prayer’
‘the answer to a maiden’s prayer’—primary meaning (USA, 1926): ‘an eligible bachelor’—hence, in extended use, ‘a miracle solution’
Read MoreCategory: United Kingdom & Ireland
to appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober
from the story of a woman who, having been unfairly judged by King Philip of Macedon while he was drunk, urged him to reconsider his decision when sober
Read Moreorigin of ‘to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth’
alludes to the gift of a spoon to a child at its christening—1762 as ‘one man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and another with a wooden ladle’
Read Moreorigin of ‘simon-pure’
1790—from the name of a Quaker who must prove his identity against an impostor’s claims in ‘A Bold Stroke for a Wife’ (1718), a comedy by Susanna Centlivre
Read Morethe British use of ‘dole’
(British) benefit paid by the state to the unemployed (1919)—from Middle-English sense ‘food or money given in charity’—from primary sense ‘portion’, ‘share’
Read Moreorigin of the word ‘paraphernalia’
from Medieval Latin ‘paraphernalia’, short for ‘paraphernalia bona’, ‘married woman’s property’, i.e. the goods which a bride brings over and above her dowry
Read Morethe biblical name ‘Moab’ in public-school slang
In Psalms, the subjugated nation of Moab is compared to a vessel used for washing the feet—hence in school slang ‘Moab’: humorous for ‘washroom’, ‘tub’, ‘sink’
Read Moreorigin of the phrase ‘place in the sun’
traceable to Pensées, by Blaise Pascal (1623-62); modern use apparently originated in a speech made in December 1897 by the German statesman Bernhard von Bülow
Read More‘to squeeze someone until the pips squeak’: meaning and origin
to exact the maximum payment which a person can afford—coined in 1918 by Eric Geddes with reference to the reparations exacted from Germany following WWI
Read Moremeaning and origin of the word ‘pogue’
Via Irish ‘póg’, Irish-English ‘pogue’ (a kiss) is from ecclesiastical Latin ‘pacem’ (kiss of peace)—the name of the band is from ‘pogue mahone’ (kiss my arse).
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