“ad fontes!”
UK, 1987—a young man who behaves in an unpleasant or aggressive manner as a result of drinking (typically lager) excessively—lager, a pale beer, is favoured by the young as opposed to the dark, traditional bitter English beer
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Australia, 1898—to drink by oneself in a public house, which is regarded as an unsociable attitude—the image is that the solitary drinker has no other companions than the flies
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Australia, 1941—an improvised drinking glass made by slicing the top off a bottle—named after Lady Olga Blamey, wife of General Thomas Blamey
Read MoreAustralia, 1930—describes a person who is reluctant, or very slow, to pay for something—the image is of a snake biting the person when they put their hand in their pocket to get at their money
Read Morethe three traditional interests of the stereotypical New-Zealand man—but also applied to both sexes—1962 or 1963 as the title and in the lyrics of a song by the New-Zealand singer-songwriter Rod Derrett
Read Morea hypothetical ordinary working man—USA, 1970—refers to a man who buys beer in six-packs—apparently coined by a political informant on the blue-collar area of Fields Corner in Dorchester, neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts
Read MoreUSA, 1909—a derogatory description of a specific place or occupation, typically used by somebody who is getting expelled from this specific place or occupation
Read Moredenotes a holiday spent at home or in one’s country of residence—USA, 1944—a blend of ‘stay’ and ‘vacation’
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a great commotion about a trivial matter—‘a storm in a teacup’: UK, 1775—‘une tempête dans un verre d’eau’: France, 1785
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The Times: nicknamed Thunderer—the Morning Advertiser: Gin-and-Gospel Gazette, Tap-tub—The Morning Post: Jeames—The Morning Herald and The Standard: respectively Mrs Harris and Mrs Gamp
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word histories 