“ad fontes!”
(intransitive): to spend the summer—UK, 1797, in the following title: The Sea Side, a Poem, in a Series of familiar Epistles, from Mr. Simkin Slenderwit, summerising at Ramsgate, to his dear Mother in Town
Read Morevery boring or unexciting—‘(as) dull as ditchwater’ (1770)—the later phrase ‘(as) dull as dishwater’ (1832) is probably due to mispronunciation of ‘ditchwater’ in the original phrase
Read Moreto describe or portray someone or something in very general terms, avoiding or neglecting the finer details—UK, 1808—alludes to a style of painting characterised by the use of broad brushstrokes
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a Japanese figurine of a sitting cat beckoning with one raised paw, traditionally believed to bring good luck—USA, 1894—from Japanese ‘maneku’ (to invite by beckoning, especially with the hand) and ‘neko’ (a cat)
Read Morea perceived loss of intelligence or critical thinking skills—apparently coined after ‘potato rot’ by the U.S. author Henry David Thoreau in Walden; Or, Life in the Woods (1854)
Read Morethe returns from an activity or undertaking do not warrant the time, money or effort required—calque of French ‘le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle’—1603, in John Florio’s translation of Montaigne’s Essays
Read Morethe benefits of an endeavour are enough to outweigh the effort of pursuing it—USA, 1959—refers to the labour-intensive process of squeezing fruit to produce fresh juice
Read Moreone is no longer rational or sane—USA, 1983
Read Moresubsistence-level living—UK, 1833—since the 17th century, ‘bread and cheese’ has been used attributively to mean: ordinary, simple, basic
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a fine kind of green tea, each leaf of which is rolled up into a pellet—UK, 1767—refers to the resemblance of the pellets to granules of gunpowder
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word histories 