‘to throw a wobbly’: meaning and origin
also ‘to throw a wobbler’—New Zealand, 1964—to lose one’s self-control in a fit of nerves, temper, panic, etc.—‘wobbly’, also ‘wobbler’, denotes a fit of temper or panic
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‘a whim-wham for a goose’s bridle’: meaning and origin
also ‘a wigwam for a goose’s bridle’—UK, 1836—denotes something absurd or preposterous; now typically used evasively in response to an unwanted or annoying question
Read More‘to come down on someone like a ton of bricks’: meanings and early occurrences
to attack or punish someone with great vigour; to reprimand someone severely—USA, 1862; New Zealand, 1863
Read More‘to have a shot in the locker’: meanings and origin
to have something in reserve but ready for use; to have a chance or opportunity remaining—nautical, USA, 1789—‘shot’: a projectile designed for discharge from a firearm—‘locker’: the compartment for keeping ammunition on a ship
Read More‘(as) thick as a brick’: meaning and origin
very stupid—popularised by Jethro Tull’s ‘Thick as a Brick’ (1972), but already existed—in early use (19th century) applied to nouns such as ‘skull’ and ‘head’, used metonymically for ‘intelligence’
Read More‘under the weather’: meaning and origin
USA, 1815—not completely well; slightly ill or depressed—the image is of a ship caught in a storm (the noun ‘weather’ has long been used to denote a storm)
Read More‘to put one’s cue in the rack’: meaning and origin
USA, late 19th century—to give up, to retire, also, occasionally, to die—from the image of a billiard-player putting the cue back in the rack when the game is over
Read More‘to kick into the long grass’: meaning and origin
UK politics, 1962—to delay dealing with something, in the hope that it will be forgotten—from the image of sending a ball into the tall grass off the playing field during a sporting event, which interrupts this event
Read More‘when the band begins to play’: meaning (and origin?)
UK, 1879—when matters become difficult or serious—of obscure origin—perhaps originally in reference to a music-hall song of that title, interpreted from 1870 onwards by Annie Adams
Read More‘not with a bang but a whimper’: meaning and origin
early 1930s—in an anti-climactic, disappointing way (used of something that comes to an end)—alludes to the last line of The Hollow Men (1925), by T. S. Eliot
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