the curious origin of ‘cordon bleu’ (first-class cook)
originally the sky-blue ribbon worn by the Knights-grand-cross of the French order of the Holy Ghost—applied by extension to other first-class distinctions
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meanings and origin of ‘bell, book, and candle’
14th century—a form of excommunication from the Catholic Church—by extension any process of condemnation carried out thoroughly
Read Morethe phrase ‘(not) to go gentle into that good night’
USA, 1952—meaning: (not) to give up or acquiesce, especially to death, without a struggle—origin: used as the title of, and in, a poem by Dylan Thomas
Read More‘high five’: origin and cultural background
USA, 1980—gesture of celebration or greeting in which two people slap each other’s palms with their arms raised—originated in basketball
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘Judas sheep’ and ‘Judas goat’
USA, early 20th century—a sheep or a goat used to lead sheep to slaughter—hence any person or thing used as a decoy to lure people into being caught, arrested, etc.
Read Morethe phrase ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’
an extremely beautiful woman—alludes to the description of Helen of Troy in Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus’—has given rise to countless adaptations
Read More‘the beast with two backs’ | ‘la bête à deux dos’
a man and woman in the act of copulation—English: earliest in Shakespeare’s Othello—perhaps a calque of French: earliest in Rabelais’s Gargantua (1542)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘Fibber McGee’s (hall) closet’
USA, 1942—used with reference to clutter, jumble, mess—alludes to the overstuffed closet in U.S. radio comedy series ‘Fibber McGee and Molly’ (1935 to 1956)
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘How many divisions has the Pope?’
used to pose the dilemma between material power and moral strength, and seemingly to dismiss the latter—from a question allegedly posed by Joseph Stalin (USA 1943)
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘beggar my neighbour’
1734: a card game in which one player tries to win all the cards of the other—1802: refers to an advantage gained by one side at the expense of the other
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word histories 