meaning and origin of the phrase ‘away with the fairies’
Irish English, 1907—out of touch with reality—ultimately refers to the belief that the fairies spirit away human beings
Read MoreTag: Christianity
meaning and early instances of ‘as the bishop said to the actress’
UK, 1930—‘as the bishop said to the actress’, ‘as the actress said to the bishop’: mischievously implies a sexual innuendo or ambiguity in a preceding innocent remark
Read Moreorigin and meanings of ‘dreaming spires’
the city or university of Oxford; the sheltered condition of unworldly academics—from the poem ‘Thyrsis’ (1866), by Matthew Arnold
Read Morethe authentic origin of the phrase ‘(as) bold as brass’
UK, 1789—aided by alliteration, arose from a long-established figurative use of ‘brass’, sometimes in association with ‘bold’
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 Moreorigin of ‘begging bowl’ (appeal for financial help)
used in reference to a grovelling or obsequious appeal for financial help (1903)—originally a bowl carried by a Buddhist monk to receive food (1878)
Read Moreorigin of the phrase ‘three sheets in the wind’ (drunk)
comparison between a drunken person and a ship careering because the sheets (ropes controlling the sets of the sails) are hanging freely
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘things that go bump in the night’
UK, 1912—from the prayer “From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that go Bump in the Night, Good Lord, deliver us!”
Read MoreHow a cartoon popularised ‘to drop the pilot’.
John Tenniel popularised the phrase in a cartoon depicting the dismissal of Otto von Bismarck, published in Punch (London) of 29 March 1890.
Read Morethe Bloody Mary before the name existed
Unnamed cocktails consisting of vodka and tomato juice became fashionable in the 1930s before the name ‘Bloody Mary’ was coined in November 1939.
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