“ad fontes!”
1755: a musical performance in which each participant plays or sings a different tune—1759: a confused or discordant medley—one of several phrases in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More1851—to depart unnoticed or without permission—one of several phrases in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More1973: a woman who works as a hired killer—hence, 1975: a woman who carries out a particular task effectively and ruthlessly—coined after ‘hitman’
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USA, 1942—has often been attributed to the Irish author George Bernard Shaw—has occasionally been applied to the relations between Australia and the USA
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USA, 1949—a person (originally and chiefly a girl or a woman) who is especially talkative—popularised from 1960 onwards by a proprietary name for a child’s talking doll manufactured by Mattel
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UK, 1916—a scrawny girl or woman—may have originated in the title of a successful song (and in the name of an equally popular character) created in 1911 by the comedienne Lily Long
Read MoreUK, 1871—a paper bag, balloon, etc., filled with flour and thrown or dropped such that it bursts and disperses its contents over the target on impact, usually as a prank or as part of a protest or public demonstration
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USA, 1911: a newcomer—but, from 1903 onwards, as ‘new kid in one’s block’: a child who has recently moved into the block where one lives—‘block’: a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side
Read Moreimpressively or shockingly big—a blend of ‘gigantic’ and ‘enormous’—apparently coined by Welsh novelist Berta Ruck in Wedding March (1938)
Read MoreUSA 1913: a newcomer—but, from 1883 onwards, in birth announcements: a newborn baby
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word histories 