origin of ‘begging bowl’ (appeal for financial help)
used in reference to a grovelling or obsequious appeal for financial help (1903)—originally a bowl carried by a Buddhist monk to receive food (1878)
Read MoreTag: food
origin of ‘Bananaland’, colloquial Australian name for Queensland
Australia, 1880—from the fact that bananas grow in abundance in Queensland (a state comprising the north-eastern part of Australia)
Read More‘banana republic’: meaning and origin
a Latin-American country that is politically unstable because its economy, controlled by U.S. capital, wholly depends on the export of bananas
Read More‘to go bald-headed’ (to rush without care or caution)
first recorded in The Biglow Papers (1848), by American author James Russell Lowell—based on the notion of leaving one’s hat behind in a rush of impetuosity
Read MoreHow a telegram popularised ‘to bring home the bacon’.
USA, 1906—popularised by a telegram sent to boxer Joe Gans by his mother, requesting him before a fight to win and ‘bring home the bacon’
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘(as) American as apple pie’
USA, 1920—‘(as) American as apple pie’: typically American in character—‘apple pie’ being here a symbol of American motherhood and traditional family values
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to be unable to run a whelk stall’
‘to be unable to run a whelk stall’ and variants: to be incapable of managing the simplest task or enterprise—coined by John Elliot Burns (1858-1943), English trade unionist and politician, in the 1894 New Year’s address to his constituents of Battersea
Read Moreorigin of ‘apple polisher’ (a person who curries favour)
USA—‘apple polisher’ (1918): a person who curries favour with a superior; ‘apple polishing’ (1926): (an instance of) currying favour—with reference to the former practice of bringing a shiny apple as a gift to one’s teacher
Read Moreorigin of ‘Dutch treat’ and ‘to go Dutch’
USA—‘to go Dutch’ (1907): to have every participant pay their own expenses, or share expenses equally—via ‘to go Dutch treat’ (1887), from ‘Dutch treat’ (1873): a meal, etc., at which each participant pays their share of the expenses—from a German practice
Read Moreorigin of ‘doggy bag’ (to take home leftover food)
USA, 1950s—The noun ‘doggy (or doggie) bag (or pack)’ denotes a bag, provided on request by the management of a restaurant, in which a diner may take home any leftovers; apparently, these leftovers were originally intended for the diner’s pet dog.
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