“ad fontes!”
USA, 1981—said to have been invented by cheerleader ‘Krazy George’—popularised worldwide during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, as a translation of Spanish ‘ola’—hence the British phrase ‘Mexican wave’ (1986)
Read Morethe game of cricket played in the incorrect manner or improper spirit—hence, more generally, something contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude—UK, 19th century
Read Moreto have sexual intercourse—UK, Ireland and Australia, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘sausage’ denotes the penis
Read MoreUK, 1921—someone who is capable, reliable or trustworthy in the management of a situation—1854: originated in cricket, with reference to skill and reliability in catching a ball—later applied to rugby players (1894) and to goalkeepers in soccer (1899)
Read Moreout of one’s mind, extremely annoyed—Australia, 1900; New Zealand, 1907—originally as ‘(as) mad as a snake’, ‘(as) mad as snakes’ and variants—later as ‘(as) mad as a cut snake’
Read Moreleft-handed: ‘molly-handed’, ‘mauldy’, ‘molly-dooked’—a left-handed person: ‘molly-hander’, ‘mauldy’, ‘molly-dook’—‘molly’ and ‘mauldy’ may derive from ‘mauley’, denoting the hand or fist; ‘dook’ is ‘duke’, denoting the hand or fist
Read MoreAustralia, 1885; New Zealand, 1894—indicates that a person is suffering from bad luck—the implication is that this bad luck is punishment for a crime committed by the person
Read MoreAustralia, 1878—a knockout blow; anything of exceptional size or force—allegedly alludes to a boxer called Dinny Hayes—but no evidence supports this allegation
Read MoreUK, 1886—to be incompetent at performing the action denoted by the verb—the underlying notion is presumably of failing to win even the smallest prize
Read Morea pal, a mate, a good friend—Ireland, 1917—perhaps an anglicised form of Irish ‘Seo Dhuitse’ (‘Here you are’) or perhaps an anglicised form of French ‘Mon cher gosse’ (‘My dear child’)
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word histories 