“Ad fontes!”
a parliamentary question which the respondent knows will be asked, intended to prompt a prepared reply—1934—refers to the question-and-answer column by Dorothy Dix, pseudonym of U.S. journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer
Read MoreAustralia—‘charity dame’ 1949—‘charity moll’ 1962—an amateur prostitute who charges less than the usual rate—from ‘Moll’, pet form of the female forename ‘Mary’, the noun ‘moll’ has long been used to designate a prostitute
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USA, 1863—a street urchin, especially in Paris, France—from ‘Gavroche’, the name of a street urchin in Les Misérables (1862), a novel by Victor Hugo
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USA, 1992—to make or repair (something) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand—also used figuratively—refers to Angus MacGyver, the lead character in the U.S. television series MacGyver (1985-92)
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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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word histories 