“ad fontes!”
a term of abuse or disparagement, especially for a man’s wife or female relative—1616 in Epicœne, or The Silent Woman, by Ben Jonson—perhaps in reference to an encumbrance, like a clog (i.e., a heavy piece of wood) tied to a dog
Read More1599—a person with whom one chats, a partner in informal or friendly conversation—now, more specifically: a person with whom one communicates via online chat or messaging
Read Morea menagerie of demons—UK, 1848—a blend of the nouns ‘demon’ and ‘menagerie’
Read MoreUK, 1793—a drink made from an egg yolk whisked into warm water, used as a remedy for colds—loan translation from French ‘lait de poule’ (1746)
Read MoreUK, 1837—very weak tea—from the fact that the wife drank the first brew, and then, to make her husband’s tea, filled the pot with water, adding no fresh leaves
Read MoreFirst World War—a non-flying member of an air force—in reference to the flightless bird of New Zealand
Read Morea police patrol car—UK, 1959—originally any of the special crime police patrol cars used in Lancashire—from the radio call-sign ‘Z’ allotted to such cars—popularised by the British television series ‘Z Cars’ (1962-78)
Read MoreAustralia, 1932—also ‘Flemington confetti’ (1933) and ‘farmyard confetti’ (1967)—bullshit (i.e., nonsense, rubbish)—also occasionally used literally in the sense of faeces
Read MoreYorkshire & Lancashire (northern England), first half of the 19th century—the evening of 30th April (May Eve), on which people traditionally indulged in mischievous pranks
Read Morean entrepreneurial, ambitious woman; especially one who runs her own business—USA, 1895
Read More
word histories 