‘a blot on the landscape’: meaning and origin

28th Nov 2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

UK, 1813, as ‘to blot the landscape’, meaning, of an ugly feature, to spoil the appearance of a place—also used figuratively of anything unsightly or unappealing that spoils an otherwise pleasant scene

‘to blot one’s copybook’: meaning and origin

27th Nov 2023.Reading time 14 minutes.

UK, 1879, as ‘a blot on one’s copybook’: a fault, misdemeanour or gaffe which blemishes one’s reputation—‘copybook’: an exercise book with samples of scripts, in which children practised their writing

‘what has that got to do with the price of ——?’: meaning and origin

25th Nov 2023.Reading time 20 minutes.

USA, 1832—a rhetorical question calling attention to a non-sequitur or irrelevant statement or suggestion made by another person—the noun following ‘the price of’ is irrelevant to the context in which it is used

‘all the tea in China’: meaning and origin

23rd Nov 2023.Reading time 16 minutes.

Ireland, 1891—used in negative contexts to denote rejection, especially in ‘not for all the tea in China’, meaning ‘not in any circumstances’—refers to China as a major producer of tea, and to tea as a commodity of great value

‘knacker’s yard’: meanings and origin

22nd Nov 2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

UK—1824: a slaughterhouse where old or injured horses are slaughtered and their bodies processed—1832: a notional place where ends up someone or something that is no longer useful or successful

‘like a bandicoot on a burnt ridge’: meaning and origin

20th Nov 2023.Reading time 10 minutes.

1894—in Australian English, the noun ‘bandicoot’, which designates an insectivorous marsupial native to Australia, has been used in numerous similes denoting deprivation or desolation

‘the buck stops here’: meaning and origin

19th Nov 2023.Reading time 22 minutes.

USA, 1929—the final responsibility lies with a particular person—from ‘to pass the buck’—‘buck’: in the game of poker, any object in the jackpot to remind the winner of some obligation when his or her turn comes to deal

‘control freak’: meaning and origin

17th Nov 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

USA, 1967—a person with a need to exercise tight control over their surroundings, behaviour or appearance—‘freak’ is used as the second element in compounds designating a person who is obsessed with the activity, interest or thing denoted by the first element

‘sit-down money’: meaning and origin

16th Nov 2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Australia, 1976—used by Aborigines to depreciatively designate unemployment or welfare benefits—‘sit-down’ means: performed or obtained while sitting down, with the implication that no or few efforts are required

‘to draw the crabs’: meanings and origin

14th Nov 2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

Australia, 1932: to attract unwelcome attention or criticism—originally, WWI slang: to draw artillery fire from the enemy, in reference to crab shells, used with punning allusion to artillery shells