‘pig’s breakfast’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1917—a mess, a muddle; something unattractive or unappetising—alludes to the jumbled nature of a pig’s meal
Read MoreTag: Christianity
‘Rasputin’: meaning and origin
a person exercising an insidious or corrupting influence, especially over a ruler, government, etc.—UK, 1917—refers to Grigori Efimovich Rasputin (circa 1869-1916), mystic and influential favourite at the court of Tsar Nicholas II
Read More‘sword of Damocles’: meaning and origin
1625—an imminent danger—alludes to Damocles, a courtier of ancient Syracuse, who was given a lesson in the perils to a ruler’s life when forced to sit under a naked sword hanging by a single hair
Read More‘sandcastle’: meanings and origin
UK, 1833: a small castle-like structure made of wet sand, as by children on a beach—UK, 1837: a plan or idea with little substance
Read More‘Christmas spirit’: meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1827—a mood or attitude appropriate to the Christmas season, especially one involving feelings of goodwill, benevolence and a willingness to enjoy oneself
Read More‘annus horribilis’: meaning and origin
UK, 1867—a disastrous or particularly unpleasant year—Latin, literally ‘a horrible year’—coined after Latin ‘annus mirabilis’, literally ‘an extraordinary year’
Read More‘brimstone and treacle’: meaning and origin
Britain, 1746—refers to old-fashioned medicinal remedies—notably used by Charles Dickens in ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ (1838-39)
Read More‘without fear or favour’: meaning and origin
without pressure from, or partiality to, any person or other external influence—1638, as a translation of French ‘sans crainte et sans respect’ (‘without fear and without respect’)
Read More‘Job’s comforter’: meaning and origin
1673—a person who aggravates distress under the guise of administering comfort—alludes to Job’s reply to his friends in the Book of Job, 16:2
Read More‘Kleenex music’: meanings and origin
1962: a type of popular music that is rapidly discarded—also, 1967: Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, regarded as a lachrymose piece of music by Igor Stravinsky—‘Kleenex’: a proprietary name for a soft, disposable paper tissue
Read More
word histories 