“ad fontes!”
USA, 1808—an irritation in the throat suggestive of an obstruction, producing a temporary croakiness or hoarseness—occasionally associated with the French, probably because ‘frog’ is derogatorily applied to them
Read MoreUK, 1836—that’s a surprisingly unfair criticism, considering that the person who has just made it has the same fault—here, ‘rich’ means ‘preposterous’, ‘outrageous’
Read Morean impressive person or thing, viewed as being difficult to rival or surpass—USA, 1912, in reference to the difficulty faced by an entertainer coming on stage immediately after a popular or successful act
Read Morea movement, developed in the U.S.S.R. in 1935, aimed at encouraging hard work and maximum output, following the example of Alexei Stakhanov—by extension: exceptionally productive work, excessively intensive work
Read Morelate 19th century—to disappear suddenly without leaving information about one’s whereabouts—from conjuring, in which ‘vanishing act’ designates an act of making a person or thing disappear as if by magic, and an act of disappearing in this manner
Read Morea completely isolated, featureless or insignificant place—USA, 1848, as ‘to knock [something or someone] into the middle of nowhere’ with reference to annihilation
Read Morethe slightest concession will be unscrupulously exploited—USA, 1837, in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s diary—a later form of ‘give someone an inch and they’ll take an ell’
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France—1883: Viennese-style baked goods—1887: a bakery that makes and sells this type of baked goods—those baked goods were introduced into France in 1839 by the Austrian entrepreneur August Zang
Read MoreUK, 1809—a person who predicts disaster, a doomsayer—also: a person who is (especially unduly) pessimistic about the future
Read MoreUSA, 1956—diarrhoea suffered by travellers, originally and especially in Mexico—borrowed from Spanish ‘turista’, translating as ‘tourist’
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word histories 