Primary Menu
  • about me
  • contact
  • alphabetical index
  • home
word histories

word histories

“Ad fontes!”

Tag: John Bunyan

Why ‘gerrymander’ was originally the name of a monstrous salamander.

3rd Nov 2018.Reading time 13 minutes.

the drawing of the ‘Gerry-mander’ and the accompanying text—as published in the Boston Gazette (Boston, Massachusetts) of 26 March 1812

Read More

an American phrase for a British trait: ‘a stiff upper lip’

6th May 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘a stiff upper lip’: a quality of uncomplaining stoicism—now understood as referring to what is believed to be a quintessentially British trait, the repression of emotion, but originated in fact in North America (USA, 1811)

Read More

meaning and origin of ‘the Slough of Despond’

12th Aug 2017.Reading time 8 minutes.

the name of a deep boggy place at the beginning of Christian’s journey to the Celestial City in ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ (1678), by John Bunyan

Read More
Creative Commons License
All posts by word histories are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence.

Search this blog

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 616 other followers

Follow word histories on WordPress.com

Categories

arts Australia & New Zealand etymology French/English linguistics literature media music public affairs religion symbolisms United Kingdom & Ireland USA & Canada

Main Tags

animals Australia Christianity dictionaries drinks economics food human body Ireland judicial Latin military newspapers & magazines phrases politics slang sports & games theatre United Kingdom USA

links

  • Académie française
  • CNRTL
  • Collins Dictionary
  • David Crystal's blog
  • English, French and Latin dictionaries
  • Lexico
  • LEXILOGOS
  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary

  • Follow Following
    • word histories
    • Join 616 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • word histories
    • Customise
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
This website uses cookies. By continuing, you agree to their use. Learn more, including how we use cookies and how you can change your settings.