“ad fontes!”
UK, 1851, as ‘haw-doovers’—humorous and colloquial alteration of ‘hors d’oeuvres’, plural of the noun ‘hors d’oeuvre’ (i.e.: an extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite usually before the main meal)
Read Moreto get caught doing something wrong, unauthorised or illegal—USA, 1933
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not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
Read Moreextremely hungry—circa 1623 as ‘(as) hungry as a huntsman’—1756 as ‘(as) hungry as a hunter’
Read Morelate 19th century—to be self-sufficient, to operate from resources accumulated earlier—refers to the ability of a camel to survive for long periods without food or water by drawing on the store of nourishment contained in its hump
Read MoreUK, 1802—to go without food, or have a meagre meal, in order to save money—perhaps from the verb ‘box’, meaning: to strike with the fist, and from the male forename ‘Harry’, designating the Devil
Read Morewrong in the head, crazy—British slang, 1882-83—the noun ‘crumpet’ designates the head, and the adjective ‘barmy’ means: crazy
Read MoreUK, 1809—a roll of sausage-meat enveloped in a cover of flour paste, and cooked
Read MoreUK, 1882—‘penny’ refers to inexpensiveness, and ‘puzzle’ to the mysterious nature of the ingredients—perhaps also in humorous allusion to ‘penny puzzle’ in the sense of a puzzle-card sold on the street for one penny
Read Morea person’s mouth—U.S. slang, 1983
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word histories 