“Ad fontes!”
Australia, 1946—to return to one’s profession after retirement; of a singer or other performer: to make frequent comebacks—from the repeated farewell performances given by Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba
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Australia, 1914—the straight-arm fend-off—from advertisements for J. C. Hutton Pty Ltd, depicting a man putting a hand in another man’s face and saying “Don’t argue—Hutton’s bacon is the best”
Read Moreall or nothing—Australia, 1895—the image is of a dinner composed entirely of duck, i.e. of choice food, as opposed to no dinner at all
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UK, 1851—a disappointing end to an otherwise exciting display—refers to the cleaning-up, especially of horse-dung, necessary after the Lord Mayor’s Show, in London
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UK, 1935—used to express disagreement with the referee during a soccer match—alludes to the white walking stick carried by a blind person
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USA, 1919—‘spare no expense’—also ‘go all out for it’, ‘hand victory on a platter’, ‘allow yourself more of what you want’ (South Africa)
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20th century—originally a precautionary stipulation in announcements of events such as church fêtes—hence used humorously of any forthcoming event
Read MoreUK, 1862—‘in every direction’ and ‘in a disorganised or confused state’—apparently originated in sports slang
Read MoreAustralia, 1980—seems to have originated in a 1979 tribute song to the Australian cricketer and cricket commentator Alan McGilvray
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Australia, 1880—from the fact that bananas grow in abundance in Queensland (a state comprising the north-eastern part of Australia)
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word histories 