the theatrical origin of the phrase ‘top banana’
USA, 1947—the leading comic in a burlesque entertainment—also ‘first banana’, in contrast to ‘second banana’ and ‘third banana’
Read More‘banana republic’: meaning and origin
a Latin-American country that is politically unstable because its economy, controlled by U.S. capital, wholly depends on the export of bananas
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘as dead as the dodo’
UK, 1852—of a person or thing: irretrievably defunct or out of date—with reference to the extinct bird of Mauritius
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘bright-eyed and bushy-tailed’
USA, 1940—alert and lively—originated in the conventional image of a healthy, spirited squirrel or other animal
Read Moreorigin of ‘to throw one’s hat in(to) the ring’
UK, 1820—to show willingness to enter into a contest or take up a challenge, especially in business or politics—originally (1804) used in boxing with reference to the custom of throwing a hat into the ring to signal willingness to enter a contest
Read Moreorigin of ‘to [verb] the living daylights out of somebody’
The adjective ‘living’ is an intensifier, and ‘daylights’ is an 18th-century slang term for ‘eyes’ chiefly used in contexts of physical violence or threats.
Read Morethe tautological phrase ‘in this day and age’
‘in this day and age’ (‘at the present time’)—USA, 1832—tautology, that is to say, ‘day’ and ‘age’ are synonymous, ‘day’ meaning ‘a period of time’
Read More‘don’t give up the day job’ (your performance fails to impress)
USA, 1951—used as a humorous way of recommending someone not to pursue something at which they are unlikely to be successful
Read Moreorigin of ‘tired and emotional’ (jocular euphemism for ‘drunk’)
coined as ‘tired and overwrought’ in ‘Private Eye’ (London) of 29 September 1967 about British Labour politician George Brown (1914-85)
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word histories 