word histories

word histories

“ad fontes!”

‘kiss-curl’: meaning and origin

1st Feb 2026.Reading time 12 minutes.

Australia & UK, 1856—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead

‘to drive pigs (to market)’: meaning and origin

30th Oct 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

to snore—UK, 1828—this phrase likens a person’s snoring to the sound made by a herd of pigs