“ad fontes!”
UK, 1851, as ‘haw-doovers’—humorous and colloquial alteration of ‘hors d’oeuvres’, plural of the noun ‘hors d’oeuvre’ (i.e.: an extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite usually before the main meal)
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USA, 1961—of air travel: causing fear of such intensity that one’s knuckles whiten in an anxious grip
Read Moreoriginally in reference to rural life as opposed to urban life—American English, 1907—the influence of a particular place or situation on the character of a person or thing cannot be eradicated by removing the person or thing from the place or situation in question
Read Moreto engage in pointless or futile activity in the face of disaster—USA, 1969—apparently first used, and perhaps coined, by Elizabeth Carpenter, press secretary for the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson
Read MoreUSA, 1977—immediate discomfort (such as financial hardship, effort or sacrifice) must be accepted to achieve superior, sustainable future benefits
Read MoreAmerican English, 1874—used in particular of stupidity, as in ‘dumb as a bag of hammers’ and variants—the underlying notion is probably that anything is dumb that does all the hard work
Read Morethe principle that, where an effective legal system is absent or does not apply, brute strength and self-interested ruthlessness are what determine success, ownership, etc.—USA, 1878—predates Kipling’s Jungle book
Read MoreUK, late 1980s—the adverb ‘o’clock’ is colloquially and humorously used with adjectives to denote an unreasonably, excessively or inconveniently early or late hour—as in ‘stupid o’clock’, ‘silly o’clock’, etc.
Read Moreone’s feet as a means of travel, humorously represented as a form of public transport—from 1887 onwards in the southeastern states of Georgia and Alabama
Read MoreUSA, early 1930s—adjectives—‘little-girl-lost’: resembling (that of) a small girl who has lost her way—‘little-boy-lost’: resembling (that of) a small boy who has lost his way
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