the changing identities of the butterfly
Since antiquity, European languages have variously named the butterfly, in particular by using sound reduplications expressive of its fluttering.
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the uncertain origin of the word ‘cockney’
originally ‘pampered child’, later ‘town-dweller regarded as affected or puny’—origin uncertain—probably not the same word as ‘cokeney’, literally ‘cock’s egg’
Read Morethe origin of the word ‘bully’?
noun (late 17th cent.), perhaps from ‘bull’ (= bovine)—possibly distinct from ‘bully’ (mid-16th cent.), ‘darling’, probably from Middle Dutch ‘boele’, ‘lover’
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘on the spur of the moment’
UK, 1784—elaborated on the archaic ‘on the spur’, which meant ‘in great haste’ and referred to the use of spurs to urge a horse forward
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘a little bird told me’
1711 in a letter by Jonathan Swift—perhaps from Ecclesiastes, 10:20: “a bird of the air shall carry the voice; and that which hath wings, shall tell the matter”
Read More‘a sandwich short of a picnic’ and other phrases meaning ‘stupid’ or ‘crazy’
With words denoting some specified deficiency in a desirable or standard quantity of something, ‘short of a ——’ means ‘mentally deficient’, ‘slightly crazy’.
Read Moreorigin of ‘don’t spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar’
from ‘to lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar’—refers to the use of tar to protect sores and wounds on sheep from flies (‘sheep’ was pronounced ‘ship’)
Read Morea 19th-century document on English phrases
remarks on English phrases (‘to rain cats and dogs’, ‘tit for tat’, ‘the devil to pay’, etc.) – from Notes and Queries (London), 9th November 1861
Read Morethe authentic origin of ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea’
early 17th century, with ‘the Dead Sea’ and ‘the deep sea’—originated in the image of a choice between damnation (‘the Devil’) and drowning (‘the sea’)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘eager beaver’
1942—In US Air Force’s slang, ‘eager beaver’ denoted an alert and efficient student cadet, with allusion to the animal’s industriousness.
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word histories 