word histories

“Ad fontes!”

‘someone’s blood is worth bottling’: meaning and early occurrences

27th Apr 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

a statement of praise or admiration—Australia, 1903—also used, in particular, by Irish author Brendan Behan (1923-1964)

the sexual meanings of ‘crumpet’ in British English

17th May 2019.Reading time 15 minutes.

women regarded collectively as objects of sexual desire; sexual intercourse—first recorded in ‘The Gilt Kid’ (1936), by James Curtis (Geoffrey Basil Maiden)