‘to think outside the box’: meaning and origin

28th Apr 2021.Reading time 11 minutes.

USA, 1971—to think creatively or in an unconventional manner—originated in a puzzle in which the aim is to connect nine dots arranged in the form of a square with four consecutive straight lines: the puzzle can be solved only by extending three of the lines outside the box implied by the arrangement of the dots

meaning and origin of the British noun ‘fly-tipping’

27th Apr 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

1947—the unauthorised dumping of waste, especially while in the process of transporting it—‘fly’ refers to ‘on the fly’, meaning ‘while in motion or progress’—‘tipping’ is the gerund of the verb ‘tip’, in the sense ‘to dump’

‘it’s no bread and butter of mine’: meaning and early occurrences

26th Apr 2021.Reading time 12 minutes.

1687—used in negative and interrogative constructions, ‘bread and butter’ denotes a matter which one has the right to express an opinion on, involve oneself in, etc.

‘meat and two veg’: meanings and early occurrences

25th Apr 2021.Reading time 10 minutes.

UK—literally, 1919: a dish consisting of meat served with two varieties of vegetable, seen as typical of traditional or unimaginative British cooking—figuratively, 1951: something simple and unsophisticated, or something indicative of simple and unsophisticated tastes

‘heads I win (and) tails you lose’ | ‘cross I win (and) pile you lose’

24th Apr 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

‘cross I win (and) pile you lose’ (1673)—‘heads I win (and) tails you lose’ (1728)—meaning: ‘I win whatever happens’—with reference to the practice of tossing a coin to determine a winner or to make a decision

‘that way madness lies’: meaning and origin

23rd Apr 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

UK, 1811—a proposed course of action is bound to lead to disaster—quotation from King Lear, a tragedy by William Shakespeare

‘even a stopped clock is right twice a day’

22nd Apr 2021.Reading time 7 minutes.

UK, 1711—means that anyone can be right occasionally, if only by chance—often used specifically to suggest that one holding a fixed belief regardless of changing circumstances will occasionally, if rarely, be correct

‘T.W.O.C’: meaning and sociological background

21st Apr 2021.Reading time 11 minutes.

UK, 1972—the offence of taking a car without the owner’s consent, especially for the purpose of joyriding, which was a social phenomenon prevalent in north-eastern England—acronym for ‘taking without owner’s consent’

‘low man on the totem (pole)’: meaning and origin

19th Apr 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

USA, 1941—the person with the least amount of experience, authority and/or influence in a group or organisation—apparently coined, as ‘low man on any totem pole’, by comedian Fred Allen in a portrait of his friend, humorist H. Allen Smith

‘champagne socialist’: meanings and early occurrences

18th Apr 2021.Reading time 14 minutes.

USA, 1906: a person who advocates equality for all people at a high level of prosperity (i.e., who believes in champagne for everybody)—UK, 1956: a person who espouses socialist ideals while enjoying a wealthy lifestyle