‘it’s raining in London’: meaning and origin
a jibe at a man wearing trousers with turn-ups—USA, 1885—from an anecdote about a man who was affecting the manners and eccentricities of upper-class English people
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‘Richard’s himself again’: meaning and origin
indicates that a person has returned to normal after an illness or similar episode—from The Tragical History of King Richard III (1700), an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III by Colley Cibber
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘social distancing’
21st century: the practice of maintaining a certain distance between oneself and other people in order to prevent infection with a disease—20th century: the practice of maintaining a degree of remoteness or emotional separation from another person or social group
Read More‘as busy as a one-armed paperhanger’: meaning and early occurrences
exceedingly busy—USA, 1906—chiefly in the extended form ‘as busy as a one-armed paper hanger with the hives’
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘black over Bill’s mother’s’
UK—applied to dark clouds looming—originally (1927) ‘over Will’s mother’s’ denoted the west—origin unknown
Read More‘beer today (and) gone tomorrow’: early occurrences
USA, 1931—jocular variant (coined on separate occasions by various persons, independently from one another) of ‘here today (and) gone tomorrow’
Read More‘anything for a quiet wife’ | ‘anything for a quiet life’
‘anything for a quiet wife’ (1875)—jocular variant of ‘anything for a quiet life’ (ca. 1620), which expresses concession or resigned agreement, to ensure one is not disturbed
Read Morehistory 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
Read Morea 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
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word histories 