history of the acronym ‘ACAB’
1970—British and Irish English—acronym from the phrase ‘all coppers are bastards’—customarily written (tattooed in particular) rather than spoken
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a British phrase: ‘(there’s) trouble at t’mill’
1955—originated in stage plays purporting to depict life in northern England, particularly in Lancashire—‘mill’: a factory
Read More‘one’s trumpeter is dead’: meaning and origin
to praise oneself—first used by Benjamin Franklin in 1729—the image is that, when one’s trumpeter is dead, one is forced to find one’s own trumpet
Read More‘two is company, three is a crowd’: meaning and origin
two people, especially lovers, should be left alone together—UK, 1829 as ‘two is company, three none’—but notion already proverbial in 1678
Read More‘English as she is spoke’: meaning and origin
broken English—UK, 1883—from ‘English As She is Spoke: or A Jest in Sober Earnest’ (London: Field & Tuer, 1883), title given to a book intended as a Portuguese-English conversational guide
Read More‘from marbles to manslaughter’: meaning and origin
meaning: any possible thing, event, or situation is envisaged or found—UK, 1839—image of a scope ranging from the most innocuous to the most harmful
Read More‘nice but dim’: meaning and early occurrences
a person regarded as good-natured but also not ‘bright’ intellectually—UK, 1981—Australia, 1982—USA, 1986
Read More‘Torygraph’, and other newspaper nicknames
‘The Daily Telegraph’: nicknamed ‘Torygraph’ for its adherence to Conservative Party—the ‘Daily Mail’: nicknamed ‘Daily Heil’ for its support for Fascists in the 1930s
Read More‘the only pebble on the beach’: meaning and early occurrences
the only person or thing to be considered in a particular situation—USA, 1895—popularised by 1896 song ‘You’re Not the Only Pebble on the Beach’
Read More‘(you’re) damned if you do and damned if you don’t’
means that, in a specific situation, a person will be blamed or considered wrong no matter what he or she does—USA, 1817—originally used in Christian contexts
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word histories 