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word histories

how words and phrases came into existence

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the phrase ‘what else did you get for Christmas?’

7th December 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

USA, 1944—sarcastic remark used in exasperation at an impatient motorist who persistently toots their horn—likens the motorist to a child in a toy car

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meaning and history of ‘good enough for Punch’

22nd October 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

UK, 1872—used of a very funny joke or real-life event—refers to ‘Punch or the London Charivari’, a British weekly magazine of humour and satire

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British phrases based on the image of being ‘on toast’

10th August 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

with allusion to food served up on a slice of toast—1877 ‘to have someone on toast’: to have someone at one’s mercy—1886 ‘to be had on toast’: to be cheated

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meaning and origin of ‘bad day at Black Rock’

18th July 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

USA, 1957—a fateful day that brings disaster—alludes to ‘Bad Day at Black Rock’, the title of a 1955 U.S. thriller film by John Sturges, starring Spencer Tracy

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meaning, origin and early instances of ‘to lie doggo’

18th April 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

UK, 1882—to remain motionless and quiet; to keep a low profile—probably from ‘dog’ and suffix ‘-o’, with allusion to the characteristically light sleep of a dog

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history of the phrase ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’

9th February 2019.Reading time 18 minutes.

sexual intercourse conducted quickly and without tenderness—originally used (USA, 1950) in the generic, neutral sense of ‘quickness’

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the curious case of ‘rob’/‘robe’ and of French ‘voler’ (‘to fly’/‘to steal’)

6th December 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

‘robe’ originally denoted something that has been robbed—French ‘voler’ (‘to fly’) has come to mean ‘to steal’ via falconry

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the Welsh origin of the phrase ‘to let the dog see the rabbit’

26th November 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

1893—to allow someone to get on with their task—originated in Wales with reference to fair-mindedness in sports

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meanings and history of the British-English phrase ‘to drop a brick’

7th September 2018.Reading time 14 minutes.

UK, 1920—to commit a blunder; to make a tactless or indiscreet remark—meaning obscure in some early uses

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‘buttered bread’ in phrases denoting fortunate situations

28th August 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

The image of one’s bread getting or being buttered has long been used to denote getting or having benefits, advantages.

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