the birth of an American phrase: ‘Where’s the beef?’
January 1984—from a television advertisement for the hamburger chain Wendy’s, in which an elderly lady demands where the beef is in a huge hamburger bun
Read MoreTag: food
early history of the phrase ‘the dog ate my homework’
far-fetched excuse for failing to hand in school homework—1st recorded UK 1929 but had already long been in usage at that time—dog eating a sermon UK 1894
Read More‘Mc-’: prefix inspired by the McDonald’s restaurant chain
USA, early 1980s—depreciative—suggests values epitomised by the McDonald’s restaurant chain, such as low quality, blandness, standardisation, superficiality
Read Morethe curious origin of ‘cordon bleu’ (first-class cook)
originally the sky-blue ribbon worn by the Knights-grand-cross of the French order of the Holy Ghost—applied by extension to other first-class distinctions
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘Judas sheep’ and ‘Judas goat’
USA, early 20th century—a sheep or a goat used to lead sheep to slaughter—hence any person or thing used as a decoy to lure people into being caught, arrested, etc.
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘beggar my neighbour’
1734: a card game in which one player tries to win all the cards of the other—1802: refers to an advantage gained by one side at the expense of the other
Read MoreBritish phrases based on the image of being ‘on toast’
with allusion to food served up on a slice of toast—1877 ‘to have someone on toast’: to have someone at one’s mercy—1886 ‘to be had on toast’: to be cheated
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘Barmecide feast’
UK, 1823—pretended or illusory generosity or hospitality—from the name of a prince in The Arabian Nights, who gave a beggar a feast consisting of empty dishes
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘the icing’, or ‘the frosting’, ‘on the cake’
something extra that makes a good thing even better—USA 1889 with ‘frosting’, 1896 with ‘icing’—refers to a sugar preparation for coating and decorating cakes
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘a bowl of cherries’
USA 1931—a highly enjoyable situation or experience—from ‘life is just a bowl of cherries’ 1928—popularised by song ‘Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries’ 1931
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word histories 