“ad fontes!”
Irish English, 1829—‘in a fortunate or prosperous state’—a loan translation from Irish ‘ar mhuin na muice’, meaning, literally, ‘on the pig’s back’, and, figuratively, ‘in a fortunate or prosperous state’
Read Moreearly 18th century—‘to anticipate unduly’, in particular, ‘to spend one’s revenue before it comes in’
Read More‘to sleep in Mother Greenfield’s’ (tramp slang): to sleep out in the open fields—‘to worship under Dr. Greenfield’: to go for a walk in the countryside rather than to attend a religious service
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British-Army slang, 1972: a suit of protective clothing for use in nuclear, biological or chemical attacks—by extension: a suit of protective clothing for use by agricultural employees working with chemical sprays—perhaps refers to ‘Noddy’, a character in the writings of Enid Blyton
Read Morea pal, a mate, a good friend—Ireland, 1917—perhaps an anglicised form of Irish ‘Seo Dhuitse’ (‘Here you are’) or perhaps an anglicised form of French ‘Mon cher gosse’ (‘My dear child’)
Read MoreUK—‘rhubarb’ is colloquially used to denote ‘nonsense’—originated in the theatrical practice consisting for a group of actors in repeating the word ‘rhubarb’ to represent an indistinct background conversation or the noise of a crowd
Read Moreto calm down and relax—a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘relax’—however, explained in 1992 as a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘max’ (to lounge, i.e., to lie, sit or stand in a relaxed or lazy way)
Read MoreYupik—meaning: “his mind knows what to do but he does not do it”—applied to someone who consistently violates the norms of society in multiple ways—used in January 2022 by Dominic Cummings to describe Boris Johnson
Read MoreIreland, 2000—discarded plastic bags or shreds of plastic bags that have become snagged in trees, hedges, etc.—the image is of a witch’s undergarment that got caught in a tree or a hedge when she was flying
Read MoreUK, 1967—something or someone that is utterly ineffectual—especially in phrases such as ‘as much use as a chocolate teapot’—variants: ‘chocolate kettle’, ‘chocolate fireplace’ and ‘chocolate fireguard’
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word histories 