meaning and origin of ‘to grow hair on a billiard ball’
to achieve the impossible—USA, 1881—originally and chiefly used with reference to hair loss treatment
Read MoreTag: human body
meanings and origin of ‘to spend a penny’
UK, 1945—with allusion to the former price of admission to public lavatories: to use a public convenience—by extension: to urinate
Read Moremeaning and early occurrences of ‘kiss my arse’
very rude way of expressing profound contempt—first recorded in The Killing of Abel, one of the 15th-century mystery plays known as the Wakefield, or Towneley, plays
Read More‘damaged goods’ and venereal disease
1911—‘Damaged Goods’, translation of ‘Les Avariés’, by French dramatist Eugène Brieux, about the dangers of ignorance concerning sexually transmitted diseases
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘Maggie’s drawers’
U.S. Army slang 1936—a red flag waved to indicate a complete miss on a target range—probably from bawdy song ‘Those Little Red Drawers That My Maggie Wore’
Read Morehistory of ‘come up and see my etchings’
USA, early 20th century—used as an invitation to sexual dalliance—in 1937, William Hays’s censorship office apparently banned it in cinema films
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘every picture tells a story’
used of images suggestive of real or imaginary events—UK and USA early 1900s: popularised by its use as an advertising slogan for Doan’s Backache Kidney Pills
Read MoreThe Guardian’s mystery man’s adventures
1983—a mystery man whom the British journalist Alan Rusbridger challenged (as a prank) The Guardian’s readers to identify in order to claim a £10 book token
Read Morehistory of the British name ‘Chalkie White’
1973—a mystery man the Daily Mirror has challenged its readers to identify in order to claim prize money—‘Chalkie’ typical epithet for people surnamed ‘White’
Read Morehistory of the British name ‘Lobby Lud’
1927—a mystery man The Westminster Gazette’s readers were challenged to identify in order to claim prize money—‘Lobby Lud’: the Gazette’s telegraphic address
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word histories 