“ad fontes!”
USA, 1920—a system devised by the Red Cross Life Saving Corps for Boy Scout camps, whereby the boys were paired off, each boy in a pair staying with the other throughout a swimming period and taking responsibility for the other’s safety
Read MoreUSA, 1981—adverb meaning: at one’s desk—especially used with reference to eating lunch or other meals there—humorous alteration of ‘al fresco’
Read MoreUSA, 1913—to produce, bet or pay out money to support one’s statements or opinions; to do something that demonstrates one’s assertion
Read MoreUSA, 1950, as ‘shopping-bag stuffer’—an advertising leaflet or similar piece of promotional material handed out to shoppers or placed in shopping bags alongside goods purchased
Read More1910—a humorous phonetic transcription of the phrase “goes into”, as originally used at school in arithmetic lessons (as in “4 guzinter 8 two times”)—hence, by extension: a schoolteacher
Read MoreUSA, 1950—a covert intelligence operation involving illegal entry into premises—alludes to the black bag in which the equipment required for this type of operations was typically carried
Read MoreUK, 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 MoreUK, 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
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USA, 1937—a device with a revolving cage or drum, used in a game of bingo to mix up the numbered balls or slips, or for drawing numbers or prize tickets in a lottery, tombola, etc.
Read MoreUK & 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’
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word histories 