‘shipping forecast’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1890: an analysis of the state of the weather at sea—UK, 1926: the BBC-radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles
Read MoreCategory: United Kingdom & Ireland
‘short-arse’: meaning and early occurrences
slang, disparaging: a person of small stature—from 1677 onwards in bilingual dictionaries (English-French and French-English) by Guy Miege
Read More‘parson’s nose’: meaning and origin
the fatty extremity of the rump of a goose, fowl, etc.—so called from the resemblance of this fatty extremity to the human nose—UK, 1826—earlier synonym: ‘pope’s nose’ (UK, 1788)
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘flogging parson’—as used in Britain and Australia
UK, 1828: an extremely severe clerical schoolmaster—Australia, 1885: any extremely severe magistrate, originally in reference to Parramatta magistrate Samuel Marsden (1765-1838)
Read More‘shoppiness’: meanings and early occurrences
UK, 1848: a tendency to ‘talk shop’—UK, 1854: something that is characteristic of a shop displaying various kinds of goods (i.e., something that is composed of disparate commonplace elements)
Read More‘long trousers’ (as used of increasing maturity)
UK, 1874—the noun ‘long trousers’ is used in reference to the wearing of long rather than short trousers as a mark of increasing maturity
Read More‘ugly sister(s)’: meaning and origin
UK, 1851—a person (or persons) or a thing (or things) considered unattractive, inferior or unpleasant, compared to others of the same type or group—alludes to Cinderella’s ugly and unpleasant stepsisters in the fairy tale Cinderella
Read More‘kissogram’: meanings and origin
UK & USA, early 20th century—used in a variety of meanings, among which: ‘a postcard on which the sender could leave the imprint of a kiss’, and ‘a brief statement about kissing’
Read More‘a fox in the henhouse’: meaning and early occurrences
a sly, treacherous or deceitful person, especially one who is secretly acting against the interests of the community or organisation to which he or she belongs—mid-19th century
Read More‘anything in trousers’: meaning and origin
USA, 1858—any man—often in contexts in which a person, especially a woman, is disparagingly characterised as sexually promiscuous or indiscriminate
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