Australia, 1946—to return to one’s profession after retirement; of a singer or other performer: to make frequent comebacks—from the repeated farewell performances given by Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba
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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 Morepersonifies the highest degree of disability or incompetence—Sydney, Australia, 1910s—variant, probably referring to a local individual, of the earlier synonymous phrase ‘blind man’
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circa 1900: by association with the reputed ferocity of the North-American Indian people, ‘Apache’ came to designate a violent street ruffian in Paris
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UK, 1943—a medal awarded to an animal in recognition of an act of bravery—named after M. E. Dickin, founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917
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US 1960—person of whom only one aspect is known; continual phenomenon—from the one-sided continuous surface formed by joining the ends of a half-twisted strip
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USA, 1990s—purveyor of doom, especially agent of death, force of suicide—refers to Jack Kevorkian (1928-2011), U.S. physician and advocate of assisted suicide
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USA—‘Comstockism’ 1878, ‘Comstockery’ 1889—strict censorship of materials considered obscene—after anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock (1844-1915)
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1934—pompous, reactionary type of person—from the cartoon character (a pompous retired British army officer voicing a hatred of new ideas) created by David Low
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USA 2005—a pessimistic or negative person—popularised, if not introduced, by the character of Debbie Downer in the U.S. television variety series Saturday Night Live
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