how words and phrases came into existence
denotes extreme quickness of movement—the use of ‘greased’ likens lightning to a machine that a mechanic has lubricated in order to minimise the friction and make it run easily
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noun (late 17th cent.), perhaps from ‘bull’ (= bovine)—possibly distinct from ‘bully’ (mid-16th cent.), ‘darling’, probably from Middle Dutch ‘boele’, ‘lover’
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British, 1810—to use one’s greater age or experience to deceive someone or to shirk a duty—from ‘old soldier’ meaning ‘a person much experienced in something’
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the creation of Eve and the verse 2:18 of the Book of Genesis in the Coverdale Bible (1535) The word helpmate means a helpful companion or partner, especially one’s husband or wife. This noun was originally helpmeet, about which the New English Dictionary (i.e. the Oxford English Dictionary – 1901 edition) explained […]
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