‘passion-killer’: meanings and origin

31st Dec 2022.Reading time 11 minutes.

UK—anything which discourages or inhibits sexual activity—originally (1943, British military slang): the sturdy, practical and unattractive underwear issued to female service personnel

‘golf widow’: meaning and origin

29th Dec 2022.Reading time 21 minutes.

a woman whose husband spends much of his spare time playing golf—UK, 1890—refers to the fact that the husband’s repeated absences from the marital home leave his wife feeling neglected

‘Franken-’: meanings and origin

28th Dec 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

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

‘Frankenstein food’: meanings and origin

26th Dec 2022.Reading time 14 minutes.

genetically 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

‘Frankenstein’s monster’: meaning and origin

25th Dec 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

also ‘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

‘keytar’: meaning and origin

24th Dec 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

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’

‘to put the frighteners on somebody’: meaning and origin

21st Dec 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

to 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

‘fudge factor’: meaning and origin

15th Dec 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

a 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

‘to (play) hide the salami’: meaning and origin

10th Dec 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

to have sexual intercourse—USA, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘salami’ denotes the penis

‘to (play) hide the sausage’: meaning and origin

9th Dec 2022.Reading time 14 minutes.

to have sexual intercourse—UK, Ireland and Australia, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘sausage’ denotes the penis