original meaning of ‘dead man’s float’
a floating position, used as a survival technique, consisting in lying on one’s back in the water—UK, 1841
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notes on ‘arsewipe’
(literally): anything used to wipe oneself clean after defecation; in later use chiefly toilet paper—(figuratively): a foolish or contemptible person
Read More‘kerb-crawl’: meaning and origin
to drive slowly along the edge of a road (UK, 1924)—specifically: with the intention of soliciting people for casual sexual activity (Canada, 1926)
Read More‘to make a horlicks of (something)’: meaning and origin
to make a mess of (something)—UK, 1970—used in reference to the trade-name of a malted milk-powder—perhaps as a euphemism for some crude word
Read More‘cardbordeaux’: meaning and origin
bag-in-box wine—USA, 2006—a blend of ‘cardboard’ (in reference to the outer packaging of bag-in-box wine) and of ‘Bordeaux’ (in reference to the wine made in the Bordeaux region of France)
Read More‘scumbag’: meanings and origin
USA, 1953: a base, despicable person—from ‘scumbag’ in the sense of ‘a condom’ (here, the noun ‘scum’ is slang for ‘semen’)
Read More‘hair-triggered’: meanings and origin
literally (UK, 1803): of a firearm: equipped with a hair trigger—hence, figuratively (Ireland, 1853): reacting immediately to the slightest provocation or cause
Read More‘(as) old as the hills’: meaning and early occurrences
exceedingly or immeasurably old—Britain, 1762—perhaps alludes to the fact that a hill is a permanent feature of a particular landscape
Read More‘like a cock at a gooseberry’: meaning and origin
very quickly and without hesitation; eagerly—Scotland and northern England, 1778
Read More‘two more and up goes the donkey’: meanings and origin
UK, 1834—an old cry used at fairs, the showman promising his audience that as soon as enough pennies are collected, his donkey will balance itself on the top of a ladder
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word histories 