‘croque-madame’: meanings and origin

22nd Mar 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

1932—coined after ‘croque-monsieur’—a toasted or fried sandwich filled with ham and cheese and topped with a poached or fried egg—but originally denoted any of various types of toasted or fried sandwich

‘well, I’ll go to the foot of our stairs’: meaning and early occurrences

21st Mar 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

UK (Midlands), 1939—exclamative phrase used to express astonishment or incredulity—the reason that this metaphor was chosen is unknown

‘brothel-creepers’: meaning and origin

20th Mar 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

1943—‘brothel-creepers’ (also ‘brothel-creeper shoes’ and ‘creepers’): denotes soft-soled shoes—refers to the stealthiness that those shoes permit

The meaning of ‘temptation’ in the Lord’s Prayer

19th Mar 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

[Preliminary note: All the biblical quotations in English are from the New International Version (2011).] Le Notre-Père, the French version of the Lord’s Prayer, was revised in La Bible : Traduction officielle liturgique (Paris: Éditions Mame, 2013), the official liturgical translation of the Bible. French-speaking Catholics used to say: Et ne nous soumets pas à la […]

‘powfagged’: meaning and origin

18th Mar 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

meaning: ‘extremely tired’—origin (Lancashire, England, 1859): from the noun ‘pow’, variant of ‘poll’, denoting ‘a person’s head’, and the adjective ‘fagged’, meaning ‘extremely tired’

notes on the noun ‘Goddam’

17th Mar 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

designates an Englishman—originated among the French, from the fact that they regarded the exclamation ‘God damn’ as characteristic of the English—the Middle-French synonym ‘godon’ may be etymologically unrelated

‘spine-bash’: meaning and origin

16th Mar 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Australia—meaning: (as a verb) to rest or spend time in an aimless, idle way; (as a noun) an instance or period of resting—origin: Army slang, Second World War, from the notion of lying on one’s back

‘mother’s ruin’: meaning and origin

13th Mar 2022.Reading time 12 minutes.

UK, 1904—denotes gin (i.e., a clear alcoholic spirit distilled from grain or malt and flavoured with juniper berries)—‘mother’s ruin’ alludes to the evils caused by the consumption of gin

Spanish ‘costa’ in invented place names

12th Mar 2022.Reading time 16 minutes.

In reference to the names of various stretches of the Spanish Mediterranean coast which are popular with British holidaymakers, the Spanish noun ‘costa’ is used humorously as the first element in various invented place names.

‘God slot’: meaning and origin

11th Mar 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

UK, 1970—colloquial expression denoting a period in a broadcasting schedule regularly reserved for religious programmes