‘dreamcatcher’: original meaning
USA, 1943—a mattress, a pillow, pyjamas, etc., advertised as ensuring a good night’s sleep
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‘beer goggles’: meaning and origin
U.S. College slang, 1985—the effects of alcohol thought of metaphorically as a pair of goggles that alter a person’s perceptions especially by making others appear more attractive than they actually are
Read More‘Kiwiness’: meaning and origin
the quality or fact of being from New Zealand; characteristics regarded as typical of New Zealand or New Zealanders—coined in 1967 by the U.S. Professor of Psychology Eugene Leonard Hartley
Read More‘the wider the brim, the smaller the property’: meanings and origin
chiefly Australian, 20th century—formula for estimating the size of rural holdings—also used figuratively of someone who talks boastfully without acting on their words
Read More‘zambuck’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1906; New Zealand, 1918—a medic, paramedic or first-aid worker, especially when in attendance at a sporting event—from the proprietary name of a popular brand of antiseptic ointment
Read Moremore on French ‘femmicide’ & early occurrences of English ‘femicide’
the killing of a woman or girl by a man—French ‘femmicide’: 1839; 1854 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman—English ‘femicide’: 1801; 1827 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman
Read More‘back of an envelope’: meaning and origin
USA, 1931—indicates that something has been formulated or devised hurriedly, roughly or carelessly, as though sketched or scribbled on the back of an envelope
Read More‘mischief night’: original meaning
Yorkshire & Lancashire (northern England), first half of the 19th century—the evening of 30th April (May Eve), on which people traditionally indulged in mischievous pranks
Read Moreprecursors of French ‘féminicide’ and of English ‘femicide’
French, 1648: ‘famicide’; 1684: ‘femmicide’; 1695: ‘femmicide’—English, 1718: ‘femmicide’ (from French)—the killing of a woman or girl by a man
Read More‘girlboss’: meaning and origin
an entrepreneurial, ambitious woman; especially one who runs her own business—USA, 1895
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