‘guzinter’: meanings and origin
1910—a humorous phonetic transcription of the phrase “goes into”, as originally used at school in arithmetic lessons (as in “4 guzinter 8 two times”)—hence, by extension: a schoolteacher
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‘kissogram’: meanings and origin
UK & USA, early 20th century—used in a variety of meanings, among which: ‘a postcard on which the sender could leave the imprint of a kiss’, and ‘a brief statement about kissing’
Read More‘close shave’: meaning and origin
a narrow escape from danger, disaster or mishap—UK, 1820—refers to the act of shaving with a cutthroat razor, which may result in injury
Read More‘three hots and a cot’: meaning and origin
three daily meals plus a bed for the night (i.e., basic food and shelter)—USA, 1929—chiefly used in relation to the military, prison, and shelters for homeless people—‘hot’ designates a hot meal
Read More‘one’s cheese slipped off one’s cracker’: meaning and origin
one is no longer rational or sane—USA, 1983
Read More‘hitwoman’: meanings and origin
1973: a woman who works as a hired killer—hence, 1975: a woman who carries out a particular task effectively and ruthlessly—coined after ‘hitman’
Read More‘to drain the main vein’: meaning and origin
to urinate—slang—2nd half of the 20th century—based on the sound /eɪn/, common to the verb, adjective and noun that compose it—‘main vein’ probably refers to the penis
Read More‘quel idiot!’: meaning and origin
UK, 1917—‘what an idiot!’—a borrowing from French
Read More‘war cake’: meaning and origin
a cake made with the ingredients available during wartime—first used during the First World War (1914-1918)—came back into usage during the Second World War (1939-1945)
Read More‘Left-Bankish’: meaning and origin
USA, 1936—characteristic or reminiscent of the Left Bank (‘Rive Gauche’ in French), the part of Paris south of the River Seine, noted for its intellectual and artistic life
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word histories 