‘chatmate’: meaning and origin
1599—a person with whom one chats, a partner in informal or friendly conversation—now, more specifically: a person with whom one communicates via online chat or messaging
Read MoreTag: Canada
‘kiwi’ (air-force slang): meaning and origin
First World War—a non-flying member of an air force—in reference to the flightless bird of New Zealand
Read More‘back of a napkin’: meaning and origin
USA, 1972—indicates that something has been formulated or devised hurriedly, roughly or carelessly, as though sketched or scribbled on the back of a napkin—also with ‘cocktail napkin’
Read More‘you can’t polish a turd’: meaning and origin
you cannot improve something which is inherently or unalterably unpleasant, or of poor quality—USA, 1977—originally in reference to rock music
Read More‘to paint someone into a corner’: meanings and origin
USA, 1929: to force someone into a situation from which it is not easy to escape—the image is of someone who is painting a floor and ends up in a corner of the room with wet paint all around them (USA, 1913)
Read More‘scholasticide’: meaning and origin
the systematic destruction of Palestinian education by Israel—apparently coined in 2009 by Karma Nabulsi, Fellow in Politics at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
Read More‘to get one’s act together’: meanings and origin
USA, 1900: to get a stage act ready—Canada, 1961: to organise oneself to undertake or achieve something—from ‘to get together’ (i.e., to organise, put in order, harmonise)
Read More‘Jeeves-like’: meaning and origin
Canada, 1928—resembling Jeeves, the perfect valet in stories by the English author Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975); this fictional character first appeared in 1915
Read More‘a hard act to follow’: meaning and origin
an impressive person or thing, viewed as being difficult to rival or surpass—USA, 1912, in reference to the difficulty faced by an entertainer coming on stage immediately after a popular or successful act
Read Moremore British uses of ‘Marmite’
‘to spread [something or someone] like Marmite’ (1964)—‘like Marmite, a little goes a long way’ (1970)—Marmite is a savoury paste made from concentrated yeast and vegetable extract, used as a spread and for enriching soups and stews
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word histories 