‘Christmas hold’: meaning and origin
also ‘Christmas grip’—Australia, prison slang, 1953—a grabbing of another’s testicles—the image is of a handful of nuts
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‘like a twisted sandshoe’: meanings and early occurrences
Australia, 1954—extremely ugly; extremely tired—the noun ‘sandshoe’ denotes a light canvas shoe with a rubber sole
Read More‘to make a better door than (a) window’: meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1872—humorous—to obstruct a person’s view—chiefly used in ‘you make a better door than (a) window’, addressed to one who obstructs the speaker’s view
Read More‘Montezuma’s Revenge’: meaning and origin
USA, 1955—diarrhoea suffered by travellers, especially in Mexico—alludes to the Aztec emperor Montezuma II (c.1466-1520), who was captured by the Spanish and died in captivity
Read More‘plus-fours and no breakfast’: meaning and origin
UK, 1930—used of a man who pretends to be well-off despite having little money—the image is of a man of limited means who spends what he has on smart clothes, and therefore cannot afford any breakfast
Read More‘stickybeak’: meanings and origin
Australia—1914: the nose of an overly inquisitive person—later: an overly inquisitive person, who pries into the affairs of others—hence used as a verb meaning ‘to pry’, ‘to snoop’
Read More‘sunstruck bone’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1893—refers to extreme thirst or to extreme dryness—popularised by the Australian short-story writer and balladist Henry Lawson (1867-1922)
Read More‘a thumbnail dipped in tar’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1901—refers to rough penmanship—alludes to Clancy of the Overflow (originally published in The Bulletin, Sydney, on 21st December 1889), by the Australian poet Andrew Barton Paterson
Read More‘the patter of tiny feet’: meanings and origin
1842—The noun ‘patter’ denotes the sound of light footfall, and the phrase ‘the patter of tiny feet’, and its variants, denote the presence of one or several young children, or the imminent birth of a child.
Read More‘Glasgow kiss’: meaning and origin
UK, 1982—denotes a headbutt—alludes to the reputation for violence accorded to some parts of Glasgow, a city in west-central Scotland
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