origin of ‘the gnomes of Zurich’ (international bankers and financiers)
British origin—popularised by Harold Wilson in 1956, but first recorded in The Observer (London) of 30 October 1955
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origin of ‘to drop a clanger’ (to make an absurd or embarrassing blunder)
British Army slang, 1945—the image is of something dropping with a clang, i.e. with a loud resonant ringing sound.
Read Morehistory of ‘crow’s nest’ (lookout platform on a ship’s mast)
UK, early 19th century—The invention of the crow’s nest is attributed to the Arctic whaler William Scoresby Senior (1760-1829).
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to dodge the column’
to avoid work, to shirk one’s duty—originated in military slang during the First World War, the word ‘column’ denoting a formation of marching soldiers
Read More‘beer and skittles’: meaning and origin
UK, 1831—In ‘beer and skittles’, denoting unmixed enjoyment, the image is of a person drinking beer while playing skittles.
Read MoreHow a telegram popularised ‘to bring home the bacon’.
USA, 1906—popularised by a telegram sent to boxer Joe Gans by his mother, requesting him before a fight to win and ‘bring home the bacon’
Read Morethe curious history of ‘Quorn’ (meat substitute)
The name ‘Quorn’ was first registered as a trademark—for certain edible products other than meat substitutes—by the Quorn Specialities Company of Leicester, England, in 1914. The meat substitute was subsequently developed by the successors of this company.
Read Morea U.S. political term of the 1920s: ‘backroom boys’
The phrase ‘boys in the backroom’, or ‘backroom boys’, appeared in the 1920s as a U.S. political term denoting persons exercising a surreptitious influence. The Oxford English Dictionary is therefore mistaken in saying that it originally denoted, in 1941, persons engaged in research.
Read Moreorigin of the British phrase ‘to go for a burton’
to meet with disaster; to be ruined, destroyed or killed—UK, 1941, RAF slang: (of an airman) to be killed—perhaps from ‘to go for a drink (of Burton ale)’
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘everything but the kitchen sink’
The phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’, or ‘the kitchen stove’, and variants mean ‘practically everything imaginable’—origin: USA, early 20th century
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word histories 