“ad fontes!”
Australia, 1940 (?)—UK, 1963—origin unknown—either somehow derived from the sense ‘to be parched’ of the phrase ‘to spit feathers’ or a distinct phrase which happens to be identical in form
Read MoreUSA, 1850—based on the image of a thirsty person whose mouth is so parched that it feels as if it were filled with feathers and that the person thus feels choked
Read MoreUSA, 1892—severe but usually short-lived headache induced by the consumption of very cold food or drink
Read Moreto smoke tobacco very heavily —UK, 1824, as “smoking away like the chimney of the King of the Netherlands”
Read MoreUSA, 1874 & Britain, 1875: a commercial vehicle from which ice cream is sold, typically at the roadside—originally in Britain: typically at a fair
Read Moreto chatter, i.e., to talk continuously about things regarded as trivial or unimportant—USA, 1940
Read More
USA, 1961—the type of body, typically slim and shapely, conventionally considered to look attractive in a bikini—hence also, by synecdoche: a woman whose body is of that type
Read Morerefers to a school’s bicycle-shed as a place of seclusion in which pupils pursue prohibited activities such as fighting, smoking, etc.—1909—‘bicycle-shed’: a shed for storing bicycles when not in use
Read More
stuck in a difficult situation, ‘snookered’—USA, 1923—refers to the situation in a game of eight ball in which a ball cannot be pocketed without also pocketing the eight ball
Read More
American English, early 20th century—primarily used of a present that delivers repeated enjoyment in the course of time—also sarcastically used of a person or situation constituting a recurring problem
Read More
