‘I wouldn’t piss on (a person) if (that person) were on fire’: meaning and origin
‘I feel intense dislike or contempt for (a person)’—USA, 1950—also occasionally used of miserliness
Read MoreTag: human body
‘scumbag’: meanings and origin
USA, 1953: a base, despicable person—from ‘scumbag’ in the sense of ‘a condom’ (here, the noun ‘scum’ is slang for ‘semen’)
Read More‘to put a zipper on somebody’s mouth’: meaning and origin
to make somebody stop talking, or to prevent somebody from talking—USA, 1930—refers to the noun ‘zipper’, designating a fastening device
Read More‘zip-lipped’: meanings and origin
having the lips tightly closed—hence, figuratively: uncommunicative, determinedly reticent—USA, 1942—refers to the noun ‘zip’, designating a fastening device
Read More‘corkscrew curl’: meaning and origin
UK, early 19th century—the noun ‘corkscrew’ is used as a modifier, with the sense spirally twisted, in the expressions ‘corkscrew curl’ and ‘corkscrew ringlet’
Read More‘bicycle kick’: meaning and origin
UK, 1951—in soccer: an overhead kick, typically executed with the feet off the ground and often involving a shot at goal
Read More‘love-glove’: meaning and origin
U.S. slang, 1979—a condom—based on the phonetic similarity between the two nouns that compose it
Read More‘knee-slapper’: meaning and origin
an uproariously funny joke—USA, 1941—the image is of a person slapping their knees in laughter
Read More‘love handles’: meaning and origin
excess or unwanted fat at the waist—USA, 1960 and 1964, in interviews of Debbie Reynolds—the image is of the waist being held on to during sexual intercourse
Read More‘to get caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar’: meaning and history
to get caught doing something wrong, unauthorised or illegal—USA, 1933
Read More
word histories 