“ad fontes!”
the discipline of moving rapidly and freely over or around the obstacles presented by an urban environment by running, jumping, climbing, etc.—French—altered spelling of the noun ‘parcours’ in ‘parcours d’obstacles’ (i.e., ‘obstacle course’)
Read Morethe solution to a problem is very straightforward and easy—UK, 1901—supposedly said by Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson—but this phrase is not (in this form) found in any of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories
Read Morean international athletic competition, modelled on the Olympic Games, for disabled athletes—UK, 1953—from the prefix ‘para-‘ in ‘paraplegic’ and ‘-lympics’ in ‘Olympics’—cf. early synonym ‘Paraplegic Games’
Read Morethe collecting of a pool of money, to be used either to provide assistance to some (other) person(s) or cause, or to buy drinks for the contributors—USA, 1863—nautical origin: such funds were originally collected by having the ship’s crew drop their money onto a tarpaulin
Read Moreyou cannot improve something which is inherently or unalterably unpleasant, or of poor quality—USA, 1977—originally in reference to rock music
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UK—a trifling, whimsical news item, especially one that is used as a light-note ending to a television or radio news broadcast—from a short film about a pet duck, first broadcast on the BBC on 24 May 1978
Read Morewithout pressure from, or partiality to, any person or other external influence—1638, as a translation of French ‘sans crainte et sans respect’ (‘without fear and without respect’)
Read Moreproprietary name for a soft drink supposed to maintain or restore the body’s alkaline balance—Ireland & UK, 1986—from the Latin nouns ‘aqua’ (water) and ‘libra’ (a balance)
Read Moreliterally: constant variety or interest (originally with reference to theatrical performances; USA, 1879)—ironically: constant variety of troubles, difficulties, etc. (in Three Men in a Boat (1889), by British author Jerome K. Jerome)
Read Morea Volkswagen car—USA, 1967—from the pronunciation of ‘VW’ (initialism from the name ‘Volkswagen’)—‘dub’: shortened form of the adjective ‘double’ in ‘double U’
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word histories 