‘omnishambles’: meaning and origin

27th Apr 2022.Reading time 16 minutes.

a situation that has been completely mismanaged—from ‘omni-’ and ‘shambles’—coined by Tony Roche in the British television series The Thick of It (3rd series, episode 1, 24 October 2009)

‘to drink the Kool-Aid’: meanings and origin

26th Apr 2022.Reading time 19 minutes.

USA, 1978—to commit suicide; to demonstrate unquestioning obedience or loyalty—alludes to a mass suicide, in 1978, by members of the Peoples’ Temple in Jonestown, Guyana, who drank a cyanide-laced drink thought to be similar to Kool-Aid

‘squeaky clean’: meanings and origin

25th Apr 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

USA, 1938—(of hair) washed and rinsed so clean that it squeaks—by extension: completely clean—figuratively: above criticism, beyond reproach

‘grease monkey’: meaning and origin

24th Apr 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

USA, 1918—a mechanic—since the 17th century, ‘monkey’ has been used (frequently with modifying word indicating the occupation concerned) to denote a person engaged in a trade or profession

‘Mr. Plod’: meaning and origin

23rd Apr 2022.Reading time 19 minutes.

UK, 1963—‘Mr. Plod’, also ‘P.C. Plod’, ‘Plod’: a humorous or mildly derogatory appellation for a policeman or for the police—alludes to ‘Mr. Plod’, the name of the policeman in stories by the English author of children’s fiction Enid Blyton

‘Dutching’: meaning and origin

22nd Apr 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

UK, 1989—the practice of sending food destined for the British market for irradiation in a country, typically the Netherlands, where this process is permitted, in order to mask any bacterial contamination before it is put on sale—from ‘Dutch’ and the suffix ‘-ing’, forming nouns denoting an action

‘dumb bunny’: meaning and origin

20th Apr 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

USA, 1921—a stupid person—seems to have originated in the slang of the flappers and of their male counterparts

‘rosinback’: meaning and origin

19th Apr 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

USA, 1896, circus slang—a horse used by a bareback rider or acrobat—rosin was rubbed on the horse’s back to prevent the rider or acrobat from slipping

‘spud-bashing’: meanings and origin

18th Apr 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

UK, WWII, army slang—‘spud-bashing’ (noun): potato-peeling; ‘spud-bash’ (verb): to peel potatoes; ‘spud-basher’ (noun): one who peels potatoes—those words have also been used with reference to potato-digging

‘skirt patrol’: meaning and origin

17th Apr 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

USA, 1941—army slang—a search for female companionship