meaning and origin of ‘Dickin Medal’
UK, 1943—a medal awarded to an animal in recognition of an act of bravery—named after M. E. Dickin, founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917
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meaning and origin of the phrase ‘to come to Hecuba’
to come to the point—in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, the title role urges an actor to go straight to Hecuba’s reaction to her husband’s killing
Read More‘Charlie’s dead’ (your petticoat is showing)
UK, 1950s—used among schoolgirls when one’s petticoat was showing (origin unknown)—synonyms: ‘it’s snowing again’, ‘you’re showing next week’s washing’
Read Morethe cultural background to the plebeian ‘trunkmaker’
UK, 18th and 19th centuries—‘trunkmaker’ was often employed with allusion to the use of the sheets of unsaleable books for trunk-linings
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘jam and Jerusalem’
UK, 20th century—the Women’s Institutes—‘jam’, from jam-making as a typical activity practised by members—‘Jerusalem’, the hymn that members sing at meetings
Read Morethe phrase ‘you can hear the neighbours change their minds’
UK, 1909—used when the dividing walls between adjacent houses or flats are thin—also used of the passage of sound between floors
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘not to know — from a bar of soap’
to be completely unacquainted with someone or something—most earliest uses (late 19th century) in U.S. publications, but a few in Australian publications
Read Morethe Australian phrase ‘to kill a brown dog’: meanings, origin
1950—used of a substance causing death or illness, and by extension of something powerful or disastrous—refers to red kelpie sheep dogs, who can ingest anything
Read Moremeanings of the British phrase ‘vicarage tea-party’
20th century—denotes something mild, innocuous or uneventful—but those notions have been associated with vicarage tea-parties since the 19th century
Read Morenotes on the British phrase ‘if wet, in the vicarage’
20th century—originally a precautionary stipulation in announcements of events such as church fêtes—hence used humorously of any forthcoming event
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