history of the acronym ‘ACAB’
1970—British and Irish English—acronym from the phrase ‘all coppers are bastards’—customarily written (tattooed in particular) rather than spoken
Read MoreTag: Ireland
‘Torygraph’, and other newspaper nicknames
‘The Daily Telegraph’: nicknamed ‘Torygraph’ for its adherence to Conservative Party—the ‘Daily Mail’: nicknamed ‘Daily Heil’ for its support for Fascists in the 1930s
Read More‘someone’s blood is worth bottling’: meaning and early occurrences
a statement of praise or admiration—Australia, 1903—also used, in particular, by Irish author Brendan Behan (1923-1964)
Read More‘Tom Mix in Cement’: meaning and origin
a retort to ‘what’s on at the pictures?’—USA, 1924—with pun on ‘to mix cement’, refers to U.S. film actor Tom Mix
Read Morea soccer phrase: ‘where’s your white stick?’
UK, 1935—used to express disagreement with the referee during a soccer match—alludes to the white walking stick carried by a blind person
Read Morehistory of ‘that schoolgirl complexion’
American English 1921–British and Irish English 1923—although it was already a cliché, ‘schoolgirl complexion’ was popularised by the advertising slogan for Palmolive Soap
Read More‘that job’s jobbed’: meaning and early occurrences
used to express satisfaction when a task that has called for more than usual enterprise and determination has been accomplished—UK, 1833
Read Morenotes on ‘see you later, agitator’
USA, 1956—jocular variant of equally jocular ‘see you later, alligator’ (1952)—recoined on separate occasions by various persons, independently from one another
Read More‘hell hath no fury like a woman’s corns’
Ireland, 1845: ‘hell has no fury like a woman corned’—puns on ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, which refers to Congreve’s ‘The Mourning Bride’ (1697)
Read Moremeaning of ‘hit me now with the child in my arms’
Irish-English phrase—first recorded in 1892—used to express pretended fear of, and/or provocation to, a physical attack
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