‘every little helps’: meaning and origin
every contribution towards a goal is valuable, regardless of how small it may be—UK, 1707—in Britain, particularly associated with Tesco, which has used this phrase as its slogan since 1993
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‘bonkbuster’: meaning and origin
a type of popular novel characterised by frequent explicit descriptions of sexual encounters between the characters—from ‘bonk’, referring to sexual intercourse, and ‘blockbuster’—UK, 1988—perhaps coined by Sue Limb
Read More‘Frankenstein food’: meanings and origin
genetically modified food—but had been used earlier by members of Weight Watchers in the sense of food one is addicted to—in reference to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read More‘fudge factor’: meaning and origin
a factor speculatively included in a hypothesis or calculation, especially to account for some unquantified but significant phenomenon or to ensure a desired result—USA, 1947
Read More‘garbage in, garbage out’: meaning and origin
USA—(1957) of computer data: incorrect or poor-quality input will produce faulty output—also applied (1964) to processes likened to computerised data processing
Read More‘the end of the rainbow’: meaning and origin
used of something impossible to obtain or achieve—1796—the image is of an illusory quest for the treasure supposed to lie where the rainbow appears to touch the ground
Read More‘Mallaby-Deeley’: meanings and origin
a cheap suit of clothes; a (cut-price) tailoring business—UK, 1920, informal—refers to Harry Mallaby-Deeley (1863-1937), a Member of Parliament who opened a cut-price tailoring business in 1920
Read More‘to rob Peter to pay Paul’: meanings and origin
to take away from one person, cause, etc., in order to pay or confer something on another; to discharge one debt by incurring another—late 14th century—from the association of ‘Peter’ and ‘Paul’, the names of two leading apostles and saints, and fellow martyrs at Rome
Read More‘yellow peril’: meaning and origin
the political, military or economical threat regarded as being posed by certain peoples of South-East and East Asia, especially the Chinese and the Japanese—UK, 1895—loan translation from French ‘péril jaune’
Read More‘pig in a python’: meanings and origin
Canada, 1970—the people who were born during the ‘baby boom’ of the years immediately following WWII, considered as a demographic bulge—any short-term increase or notably large group
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