history of the terms ‘man Friday’ and ‘girl Friday’
USA—‘man Friday’ 1802: alludes to the name of Robinson Crusoe’s servant in Daniel Defoe’s novel—‘girl Friday’ 1929: coined on the pattern of ‘man Friday’
Read MoreTag: cinema
meaning and origin of the term ‘bunny boiler’
1989—a person acting vengefully after having been spurned by their lover—from 1987 film Fatal Attraction, in which a rejected woman boils her lover’s pet rabbit
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘all-singing, all-dancing’
UK, 1959—having every desirable feature possible—from ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ as used in the billing given to film or stage musical productions
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘six feet under’
USA, 1924—dead and buried—short for ‘buried six feet under ground’—alludes to the normal depth of a grave
Read More‘that’s how the cookie crumbles’ and ‘(that’s when) the cookie crumbled’
USA, 1950s—‘that’s how the cookie crumbles’: that’s how it is—‘(that’s when) the cookie crumbled’: (that’s when) a decisive change in a situation occurred
Read Morethe cinematographic origin of the phrase ‘off the cuff’ (spontaneously)
USA, 1928—originally referred to scenario improvising during the silent-film era—the image is of notes written on a shirt-cuff
Read Morethe story of ‘John Lennon spectacles’
USA, 1967—metal-framed spectacles with small, round lenses—worn and popularised by the English singer, musician and songwriter John Lennon (1940-80)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to get one’s knickers in a twist’
(jocular) to become unduly agitated or angry—twisted clothing as a metaphor for mental confusion—UK, 1971, in the comic strip Andy Capp
Read Moremeaning 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 Morean investigation into the origin of the phrase ‘an old Spanish custom’
UK, 1932—hypotheses as to origin: successful music-hall song(s) – clichés about Spain – coined by Herman Cyril McNeile
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