the birth of the colourful noun ‘cackleberry’
USA, 1889—humorous, informal: a hen’s egg—composed of ‘cackle’, the raucous clucking cry given by a hen, especially after laying an egg, and of ‘berry’
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“Nice one, Cyril!”, or the birth of British catchphrases
a view on the manner in which catchphrases created by comedians and advertising gain currency
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British term ‘Aga saga’
UK, 1992 (coined by Terence Blacker)—a novel depicting the lives and concerns of the British rural middle classes—from the association of Aga cookers with those classes
Read Moremeaning and early instances of the phrase ‘like taking candy from a baby’
USA, 1896—very easy to accomplish, sometimes with an implication of unscrupulousness
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘flavour of the month/of the week’
UK, 1967—person or thing that enjoys a short period of great popularity—the particular ice-cream flavour promoted during a month/week
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to know how many beans make five’
to be sensible and intelligent—1784 in a US publication, but attributed to “a gentleman from abroad”—‘blue’, meaningless fanciful intensive, sometimes before ‘beans’
Read Morean investigation into the origin of the phrase ‘an old Spanish custom’
UK, 1932—hypotheses as to origin: successful music-hall song(s) – clichés about Spain – coined by Herman Cyril McNeile
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘bread and circuses’
UK, 1869—inaccurate translation of Latin ‘panem and circenses’ (literally ‘bread and circus games’) as used by the Roman poet Juvenal
Read Moreorigin of ‘bread-and-butter letter’ and of its synonym ‘Collins’
letter of thanks for hospitality: ‘bread-and-butter letter’ (USA, late 19th century) – ‘Collins’ (UK, early 20th century, from the name of William Collins in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice)
Read More‘buttered bread’ in phrases denoting fortunate situations
The image of one’s bread getting or being buttered has long been used to denote getting or having benefits, advantages.
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