‘to talk a glass eye to sleep’: meanings and early occurrences
applied either to a wearisome talker or to a persuasive talker—first occurs in the latter sense and in connection with boxing: Australia 1952, UK 1954
Read MoreTag: Australia
notes on the phrase ‘social distancing’
21st century: the practice of maintaining a certain distance between oneself and other people in order to prevent infection with a disease—20th century: the practice of maintaining a degree of remoteness or emotional separation from another person or social group
Read More‘nice but dim’: meaning and early occurrences
a person regarded as good-natured but also not ‘bright’ intellectually—UK, 1981—Australia, 1982—USA, 1986
Read More‘Torygraph’, and other newspaper nicknames
‘The Daily Telegraph’: nicknamed ‘Torygraph’ for its adherence to Conservative Party—the ‘Daily Mail’: nicknamed ‘Daily Heil’ for its support for Fascists in the 1930s
Read More‘someone’s blood is worth bottling’: meaning and early occurrences
a statement of praise or admiration—Australia, 1903—also used, in particular, by Irish author Brendan Behan (1923-1964)
Read More‘like the wreck of the Hesperus’: meaning and origin
in a sad state, or, merely, dishevelled—USA, 1897—refers to The Wreck of the Hesperus (1840), by the U.S. poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read Morea soccer phrase: ‘where’s your white stick?’
UK, 1935—used to express disagreement with the referee during a soccer match—alludes to the white walking stick carried by a blind person
Read More‘all one’s Christmases come at once’: early occurrences
one is experiencing remarkably good fortune; one has everything one could have wished or hoped for—Australia, 1932
Read Morethe anti-nuclear phrase ‘one flash and you’re ash’
Australia, 1953—slogan used by opponents of nuclear weapons—also used in New Zealand
Read More‘since Pontius was a pilot’: meaning and origin
meaning: ‘for a very long time’—UK, 1944—with a pun on ‘Pilate’, originated in the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War
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word histories 