‘to be packed like sardines’: meaning and origin
UK, 1841—to be crowded or confined tightly together, as sardines in a tin
Read MoreTag: India
‘Black Hole of Calcutta’: meaning and origin
an oppressive, very confined or crowded space—UK, 1764—refers to the punishment cell at Fort William, Calcutta, in which, in 1756, the Nawab of Bengal reputedly confined British and Anglo-Indian prisoners
Read More‘to come to a sticky end’: meaning and early occurrences
to die, or to come to grief, in violent or exceptionally unpleasant circumstances—Australia, 1897—here, the adjective ‘sticky’ means ‘unpleasant’
Read More‘Eve-teasing’: meaning and origin
India, 1958—euphemistic appellation for verbal or physical sexual harassment of a woman by a man in a public place—refers to Eve, the first woman in the biblical account of the creation of the world, who is seen as a temptress
Read More‘we aim to please (you aim too, please)’
‘we aim to please’ (1817): originally chiefly used as a commercial slogan meaning ‘our customers’ satisfaction is our goal’—extended form ‘we aim to please; you aim too, please’ (1941): used in a variety of contexts
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘not to have the foggiest’
to have no idea at all—UK, 1913, shortening of ‘not to have the foggiest idea’ and variants (mid-19th century)—adjective ‘foggy’ means hazy, vague
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘Poona’ as applied to army officers
UK, 1930s—the reactionary opinions and pompous manner of the army officers who had been stationed at Poona, a military and administrative centre in India
Read Morethe curious origin of ‘the mind boggles’
primary meaning of ‘boggle’ was ‘to start with fright’, originally with reference to horses—probably related to the nouns ‘bogle’ and ‘bogey’, denoting an evil spirit such as horses are reputed to see
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘red in tooth and claw’
UK, 1857—characterised by savage violence or merciless competition—from Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘In Memoriam’ (1850), in which ‘red in tooth and claw’ refers to Nature’s brutality
Read MoreAnglo-Indian origin of ‘loot’ (goods stolen in war)
UK, early 19th century—private property taken from an enemy in war—originally an Anglo-Indian noun, from Hindi ‘lūṭ’, from Sanskrit ‘luṇṭh-‘, ‘to rob’—came to be also used as slang for ‘money’ and to also denote ‘wedding presents’
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