‘beer and skittles’: meaning and origin
UK, 1831—In ‘beer and skittles’, denoting unmixed enjoyment, the image is of a person drinking beer while playing skittles.
Read Moreorigin of ‘begging bowl’ (appeal for financial help)
used in reference to a grovelling or obsequious appeal for financial help (1903)—originally a bowl carried by a Buddhist monk to receive food (1878)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to bow (down) in the house of Rimmon’
1718—to sacrifice one’s principles for the sake of conformity—from 2 Kings, where Naaman seeks permission from Elisha to worship the Aramaean god Rimmon
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘not to know (something) from Shinola’
USA, 1946—to be completely unaware or innocent—from ‘Shinola’, the trade name of an American brand of shoe polish
Read More‘to count sheep’ – French ‘compter les moutons’
‘to count sheep’ (French ‘compter les moutons’): to count imaginary sheep jumping over an obstacle one by one, as a way of sending oneself to sleep
Read Moreorigin of the phrase ‘three sheets in the wind’ (drunk)
comparison between a drunken person and a ship careering because the sheets (ropes controlling the sets of the sails) are hanging freely
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘things that go bump in the night’
UK, 1912—from the prayer “From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that go Bump in the Night, Good Lord, deliver us!”
Read More‘bull in a china shop’ – ‘éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine’
‘like a bull in a china shop’ (UK, 1802)—French equivalent with ‘elephant’ instead of ‘bull’ (1849)
Read MoreHow ‘to call a spade a spade’ originated in a mistranslation.
originated in the mistranslation by Erasmus of Greek ‘skáphē’ (meaning anything hollowed out) as a word denoting a digging tool
Read Moreorigin of ‘sop’ (a concession given to placate)
17th century—allusion to the Aeneid, by Virgil, in which the Sybil throws a drugged cake to Cerberus, the monstrous dog guarding the entrance to Hades
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