‘penny-a-line’: meanings and origin
UK, early 19th century, derogatory—used attributively of a journalist who was paid at the rate of a penny a line, hence also of low-quality writing
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‘kiss-me-quick’ (curl): meaning and origin
UK, mid-19th century—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read More‘kiss-me-quick’ (bonnet): meaning and origin
mid-19th century—a small bonnet standing far back on the head, which was then fashionable—also occasionally in the extended form ‘kiss-me-quick, mother’s coming’
Read More‘kiss-curl’: meaning and origin
Australia & UK, 1856—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read More‘not a word of the pudding’: meaning and early occurrences
1666—a warning or exhortation to say nothing about a particular matter—of unknown origin—may allude to the mysterious nature of pudding stuffing
Read More‘jobation’: meaning and origin
1687—a lengthy and tedious reprimand—from the verb ‘job’ (1666), meaning: to reprimand in a long and tedious harangue—with allusion to the lengthy reproofs addressed to Job by his friends in the Book of Job
Read More‘to cut a long story short’: meaning and early occurrences
also, and originally (1729), ‘to make a long story short’: to be brief or concise—this phrase is typically used as a sentence adverbial, with the sense: in short, in summary, briefly
Read More‘crosswordese’: meaning and origin
the style of language considered characteristic of crossword clues or solutions—USA, 1925—from the noun ‘crossword’ and the suffix ‘-ese’, forming nouns designating the style of language considered characteristic of the first element
Read More‘to walk the plank’: meanings and origin
late 18th century, in the context of piracy: to walk along a plank placed over the side of a ship until one falls into the sea—hence, figuratively, early 19th century: to be forced to resign from one’s office or position
Read More‘heifer-dust’: meaning, origin and early occurrences
nonsense, rubbish—USA, first decade of the 20th century—probably a euphemism for the noun ‘bullshit’, with the noun ‘dust’ used in the sense of ‘rubbish’, ‘garbage’
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