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word histories

word histories

how words and phrases came into existence

Tag: human body

history of the phrase ‘c’est la guerre’ (‘it can’t be helped’)

5th December 2019.Reading time 18 minutes.

UK and USA, World War One—borrowing from French, literally ‘it is war’—expresses acceptance of, or resignation at, the situation engendered by war

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the phrase ‘muscles like sparrows’ kneecaps’

1st December 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

UK, 1922—(self-)disparagingly used of somebody’s physical strength—sometimes as a parody of ‘The Village Blacksmith’ (1840), by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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history of the phrase ‘close your eyes and think of England’

27th November 2019.Reading time 15 minutes.

France, 1954: purported advice given to English brides-to-be on how to cope with unwanted but inevitable sexual intercourse—but this occurs in a humoristic book

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meaning and origin of the phrase ‘nudge, nudge’

25th November 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

draws attention to a sexual innuendo—generally refers to an October 1969 sketch from the British comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus—but in use earlier

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the British phrase ‘bless my—or another’s—cotton socks’

22nd November 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

1930 ‘bless my cotton socks’: exclamation of surprise, consternation, etc.—1935 ‘bless another’s cotton socks’: expresses affection, benevolence or gratitude

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‘Charlie’s dead’ (your petticoat is showing)

18th November 2019.Reading time 13 minutes.

UK, 1950s—used among schoolgirls when one’s petticoat was showing (origin unknown)—synonyms: ‘it’s snowing again’, ‘you’re showing next week’s washing’

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meaning and origin of the phrase ‘jam and Jerusalem’

15th November 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

UK, 20th century—the Women’s Institutes—‘jam’, from jam-making as a typical activity practised by members—‘Jerusalem’, the hymn that members sing at meetings

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the Australian phrase ‘to kill a brown dog’: meanings, origin

10th November 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

1950—used of a substance causing death or illness, and by extension of something powerful or disastrous—refers to red kelpie sheep dogs, who can ingest anything

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meanings of the British phrase ‘vicarage tea-party’

9th November 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

20th century—denotes something mild, innocuous or uneventful—but those notions have been associated with vicarage tea-parties since the 19th century

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‘wallflower’ | ‘faire tapisserie’: on the fringes of a dance

3rd November 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

UK 1801 ‘wallflower’—France 1806 ‘faire tapisserie’ (= ‘to do tapestry’)—in both cases because the person keeps their seat at the side of a room during dancing

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