history of the terms ‘whammy’ and ‘double whammy’
USA—‘whammy’ (baseball, 1927): evil influence or hex—‘double whammy’ (boxing, 1938): evil spell more potent than a whammy
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origin and early instances of ‘honky-tonk’ (cheap entertainment venue)
USA—probably a reduplication based on ‘honk’—appeared in Texas as the name of a theatre (1889) and of a variety show (1890)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to grasp the nettle’
from the idea that it takes some pluck to put to the test the belief that a nettle stings less painfully when seized tightly than when touched lightly
Read Moreorigin of ‘armed to the teeth’: French ‘armé jusqu’aux dents’
1735, as ‘armed up to the very teeth’ in a translation of Alain-René Lesage’s Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane
Read Moremeaning, origin and early instances of ‘blonde moment’
USA, 1991—refers to the stereotypical perception of blonde-haired women as unintelligent
Read More‘to know —— like the back of one’s hand’ – ‘connaître —— comme sa poche’
first attested in David Balfour (1893), by Robert Louis Stevenson—French equivalent ‘connaître comme sa/ses poche(s)’ (‘to know like one’s pocket(s)’ – 1791)
Read Moreorigin of ‘beard the lion in his den’ (confront someone on their own ground)
Scotland, 1749—from the idea of daring to grab a lion’s “beard” and figurative uses of ‘beard’: (verb) ‘confront’ – (noun) ‘face’
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British phrase ‘to be all mouth and (no) trousers’
1961—to be all talk and no action—originally without the negative determiner ‘no’—refers to verbal and sexual arrogance
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘plain Jane’
UK, 1898, in ‘plain Jane and no nonsense’—a dull or unattractive girl or woman—‘Jane’ chosen because it is common and rhymes with ‘plain’
Read Morethe story of ‘John Lennon spectacles’
USA, 1967—metal-framed spectacles with small, round lenses—worn and popularised by the English singer, musician and songwriter John Lennon (1940-80)
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