a figurative use of ‘tiger’
characterises a person who has an insatiable appetite for something—especially in ‘tiger for work’ (Australia, 1857) and ‘tiger for punishment’ (New Zealand, 1911)
Read More‘to put sport back on the front pages’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1978—used of a desirable state of political stability—alludes to a remark made by Malcolm Fraser, Leader of the Liberal Party, during the campaign for the 1975 Australian federal election
Read More‘jukebox’: meaning and origin
a coin-operated phonograph (typically in a gaudy, illuminated cabinet) having a variety of records that can be selected by push button—USA, 1939—earlier appellation: jook organ (Florida, 1937)
Read More‘gaiety of nations’: meaning and origin
enjoyment or pleasure shared by a large number of people—coined by Samuel Johnson in his posthumous homage to David Garrick published in Prefaces, biographical and critical, to the works of the English poets (London, 1779)
Read More‘to make the fur fly’: meaning and origin
to cause trouble or an argument—USA, 1814—based on the image of cats fighting
Read More‘rumpy-pumpy’: meaning and origin
sexual intercourse—Scotland, 1968—reduplication (with variation of the initial consonant and addition of the suffix ‘-y’) of the noun ‘rump’, denoting a person’s buttocks
Read More‘stone the crows’: meaning and origin
exclamation of surprise, regret or disgust—New Zealand and Australia, early 20th century—one of several similar phrases, such as ‘starve the rats’, expressing those feelings
Read More‘monokini’: meaning, origin and early occurrences
a woman’s topless swimsuit, consisting of the lower half of a bikini—from the prefix ‘mono-’ and ‘-kini’ in ‘bikini’, reinterpreted as containing the prefix ‘bi-’—coined in 1946 by French clothing designer Louis Réard
Read More‘wahine toa’: meanings and origin
a brave Māori female warrior; by extension, any strong or brave woman—New Zealand—in Māori, 1873—in English, 1902—from ‘wahine’ (a Māori woman or wife) and ‘toa’ (a brave Māori male warrior)
Read More‘(as) full as a Bourke-Street tram’: meaning and origin
drunk—Australia, 1983—refers to Bourke Street, one of the main streets in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria—in Australian English, the adjective ‘full’ is used in various phrases referring to drunkenness
Read More
word histories 