notes on ‘shopaholic’ and ‘shopaholism’
‘shopaholic’ (USA, 1972): a blend of ‘shop’ and ‘alcoholic’; designates a compulsive shopper—‘shopaholism’ (USA, 1983): denotes the state or fact of being a compulsive shopper
Read More‘to squeeze a nickel until the Indian is riding the buffalo’: meaning and origin
to be extremely tight with money—USA, 1926—refers to the five-cent coin, struck from 1913 to 1938, featuring a Native American on one side and a bison on the other
Read More‘the books won’t freeze’: meaning and purported origin
USA, 1944—was used when a cattle-owner let the autumn book tally stand all winter and sold out the herd on that basis, no matter how many head froze or got stolen over winter
Read More‘six-hat and fifty-shirt’ (strong back and a weak mind)
U.S. underworld phrase, 1931—The image is of a man whose hat is only a six-incher, but who needs a fifty-inch chest measurement in shirts.
Read Morea Pepysian phrase: ‘and so to bed’
phrase popularised by its frequent use in the diary (1659-69) of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)—not peculiar to him, however, as it was used for example by Philip Massinger in 1624
Read More‘staycation’: meaning and origin
denotes a holiday spent at home or in one’s country of residence—USA, 1944—a blend of ‘stay’ and ‘vacation’
Read More‘your mother wears army boots’: meaning, origin (?), and early occurrences
USA, 1947—a mild insult perhaps alluding to impecuniousness—seems to have originated amongst teenagers and young adults
Read More‘coming? so is Christmas!’: meanings and history
UK, early 18th century—addressed to one who, saying ‘coming!’ (i.e., ‘in a minute’), takes a long time to arrive—used by extension of anything that is being delayed
Read More‘amour fou’: meaning and origin
uncontrollable or obsessive passion—French phrase introduced in the 1960s as a theme of drama, prose narrative and cinema
Read More‘to charge like the Light Brigade’: origin and various meanings
alludes to a British cavalry charge in 1854 during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War—the phrase has had a variety of meanings, depending on the acceptation in which ‘charge’ has been used
Read More
word histories 