“ad fontes!”
forms nouns with the sense ‘genetically modified ——’; also, occasionally, with the sense ‘—— relating to genetic modification’—first used in 1992 by Paul Lewis to form ‘Frankenfood’—from ‘Frankenstein’, the title character of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel
Read Moregenetically modified food—but had been used earlier by members of Weight Watchers in the sense of food one is addicted to—in reference to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read Morealso ‘Frankenstein’—a creation over which the creator loses control, eventually being destroyed by it—UK, 1822—alludes to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
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a synthesizer designed to be held in the manner of a guitar, with one hand playing a keyboard while the other operates controls on an extended handle—USA, 1979—from ‘key-’ in ‘keyboard’ and ‘-tar’ in ‘guitar’
Read Moreto intimidate somebody—UK, from 1958 onwards in books by Frank Norman (1930-1980)—also, the noun ‘frightener’ designates a member of a criminal gang who intimidates the victims of its activities
Read Morea factor speculatively included in a hypothesis or calculation, especially to account for some unquantified but significant phenomenon or to ensure a desired result—USA, 1947
Read Moreto have sexual intercourse—USA, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘salami’ denotes the penis
Read Moreto have sexual intercourse—UK, Ireland and Australia, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘sausage’ denotes the penis
Read Morehumorous—a polite variant of the slang phrase to ‘take the piss out of’, meaning ‘to tease or ridicule’—Ireland, 1987
Read Moreto set someone thinking very hard or seriously, to give someone much food for thought—UK, 1889—loan translation from French ‘donner furieusement à penser’
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