“Ad fontes!”
UK, 1847—a fall in value, especially a reduction in wages—one of several expressions denoting the opposite in meaning of the noun qualified by the genitive case of ‘Irishman’—for example: ‘Irishman’s promotion’ (a demotion) and ‘Irishman’s hurricane’ (nautical: a flat calm)
Read Morea nickname given to London, which has, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, attracted Russian oligarchs—also used earlier in reference to Communism—modelled on Russian city names such as ‘Leningrad’ and ‘Stalingrad’
Read More1762: the time of night when it is said that witches are active and supernatural occurrences take place—alludes to ‘the witching time of night’ in Shakespeare’s Hamlet—also (1985): the last hour of trading each month when exchange-traded stock options expire
Read MoreLiverpool (Lancashire, north-western England), 1833—a speculating builder who constructs cheap houses, flats, etc., with materials of poor quality, for a quick profit—the origin of the element ‘jerry’ is unknown
Read Moreearly 18th century—‘to anticipate unduly’, in particular, ‘to spend one’s revenue before it comes in’
Read MoreUSA, 1922—flappers’ slang: the sum of money that a flapper carried as a precaution so as not to be left financially helpless in case she and her boyfriend got ‘mad’ at each other while on a date
Read MoreUSA, 1986—something intended to divert attention from something more important—refers to the fact that when two male gorillas confront each other, they throw dust in the air to distract one another—popularised, if not coined, by Henry Ross Perot
Read MoreUSA, 1938—unemployment insurance, and, broadly, any benefit paid to someone who is not working
Read MoreUSA, 1975—especially used of a firm—to divulge information or secrets—based on the notion of opening one’s kimono and revealing one’s naked body
Read MoreLancashire, England, 1939—used in similative and comparative phrases such as ‘as —— as soft Mick’ and ‘more —— than soft Mick’, the noun ‘soft Mick’ (also ‘Soft Mick’) indicates a great quantity or degree
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word histories 