“ad fontes!”
USA, 1992—the folds of loose skin or fat which hang from the undersides of a person’s upper arms—so named because they are common in older women, who are regarded as the type of person most likely to play bingo
Read More
USA, 1938—UK, 1961—satirical phrase referring to the addiction to bingo, a game in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers
Read Morephrase popularised by its frequent use in the diary (1659-69) of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)—not peculiar to him, however, as it was used for example by Philip Massinger in 1624
Read MoreUSA, 1947—a mild insult perhaps alluding to impecuniousness—seems to have originated amongst teenagers and young adults
Read Moreuncontrollable or obsessive passion—French phrase introduced in the 1960s as a theme of drama, prose narrative and cinema
Read More
UK, 1870—based on the stereotype of Scots being miserly—from the story of the Scotsman who complained that he had to spend, in London, the small sum of sixpence
Read More1928—addressed to someone who looks glum—‘scone’ (originally Scots, early 16th century) denotes a light plain doughy cake
Read More
USA—originally used during the 1960 presidential election campaign by the Democratic Party to denigrate Richard Nixon, the Republican Party’s nominee
Read MoreUSA, 1938—male-chauvinistic phrase meaning that the place of women is in the home and that their role is to bear children—also ‘pregnant and barefoot(ed)’
Read More
UK, 1851—a disappointing end to an otherwise exciting display—refers to the cleaning-up, especially of horse-dung, necessary after the Lord Mayor’s Show, in London
Read More
