‘God slot’: meaning and origin
UK, 1970—colloquial expression denoting a period in a broadcasting schedule regularly reserved for religious programmes
Read MoreTag: Christianity
‘what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander’: meaning and early occurrences
meaning: ‘what is appropriate in one case is also appropriate in the other case in question’—earliest occurrence in A Collection of English Proverbs (1670), by John Ray
Read More‘all roads lead to Rome’: meaning and origin
1793—probably ultimately after post-classical Latin ‘mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam…’ (‘a thousand roads lead for ever to Rome the men…’)—the metaphor occurred in A Treatise on the Astrolabe (ca 1391), by Geoffrey Chaucer
Read More‘Jesus boots’: meanings and origin
American English—1902: bare feet (used of Doukhobors, i.e., members of a Christian sect that originated in Russia, many members of which emigrated to Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries)—1965: open-toed leather sandals of a simple or functional style (used of young persons)
Read More‘parson’s week’: meanings and origin
UK, 1772—a holiday period of thirteen days, from Monday to the Saturday of the following week, humorously regarded as the longest holiday available to a parson who was excused one Sunday’s duties—later also: a holiday period of six days, from Monday to the Saturday of the same week
Read More‘to sleep in Mother Greenfield’s (lodgings)’
‘to sleep in Mother Greenfield’s’ (tramp slang): to sleep out in the open fields—‘to worship under Dr. Greenfield’: to go for a walk in the countryside rather than to attend a religious service
Read More‘false dawn’: meanings and origin
1809—a transient light preceding the true dawn by about an hour, a phenomenon common in Eastern countries—translates Arabic ‘ṣubḥ kāḏib’—figuratively: a hopeful sign that can prove either illusory or authentic
Read More‘at someone’s beck and call’: meaning and origin
1580—always having to be ready to obey someone’s orders immediately—‘beck’ denotes a mute signal or significant gesture (such as a nod or a motion of the hand), indicating assent or notifying a command
Read More‘as demure as a whore at a christening’: meaning and origin
1695—This phrase means ‘having an appearance of respectability’. The image of a prostitute at a christening is used to indicate that a person is out of place in a particular situation.
Read More‘(the road to) hell is paved with good intentions’: meaning and origin
This proverb means that promises and plans must be put into action, otherwise they are useless. The early versions did not refer to hell or the road to hell being paved, but to hell being full of good desires, intentions, meanings, etc.
Read More
word histories 