meaning 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)
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history 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
Read Morenotes on various acceptations of the term ‘rat pack’
USA—derogatory appellation for a group of persons—1950 Los Angeles’s gangs of hoodlums—1955 self-designation of a group of Hollywood celebrities
Read Moreorigin and meanings of ‘Ruritania’ and ‘Ruritanian’
from The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), set in the fictional kingdom of Ruritania—UK, 1896: romantic adventure and intrigue; any imaginary or hypothetical country
Read More‘Fabian’ applied to George Washington | the Fabian Society
Washington’s strategy was similar to that of Fabius Cunctator, who defeated Hannibal by avoiding decisive contests—the Fabian Society advocates gradual reforms
Read Moremeanings and early instances of ‘Freudian slip’
USA, 1927—a slip of the tongue by which the speaker reveals an unconscious thought—named after Austrian neurologist and psychotherapist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘(but) some — are more equal than others’
USA—from 1848 onwards in contrast to ‘all men are equal’—now often alludes to ‘but some animals are more equal than others’ in Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945)
Read Morecolourful English and French phrases denoting a squint
e.g. ‘one eye at St. Paul’s and the other at Charing-cross’, ‘un œil aux champs et l’autre à la ville’ (one eye at the fields and the other at the town)
Read MoreBritish phrases based on the image of being ‘on toast’
with allusion to food served up on a slice of toast—1877 ‘to have someone on toast’: to have someone at one’s mercy—1886 ‘to be had on toast’: to be cheated
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word histories 