“ad fontes!”
if the punishment for a minor wrongdoing is to be the same as for a major one, there is no reason for not committing the greater offence—1678 in a collection of proverbs
Read MoreUSA, 1917—the practice of enjoying the nightlife of a city or town by visiting multiple bars and nightclubs
Read MoreUSA, 1923: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may sentence themself and their fellow offenders—USA, 1925: a court in which a perpetrator of a minor offence may pay a fixed fine without having to stand trial
Read Moreas ‘coats for goalposts’: UK, late 19th century—refers to the type of informal football played by young people in public spaces, in which coats or/and jumpers belonging to the players are used as improvised goalposts
Read MoreUSA, 1850—based on the image of a thirsty person whose mouth is so parched that it feels as if it were filled with feathers and that the person thus feels choked
Read Moreto smoke tobacco very heavily —UK, 1824, as “smoking away like the chimney of the King of the Netherlands”
Read Morea floating position, used as a survival technique, consisting in lying on one’s back in the water—UK, 1841
Read More
USA, 1968: colloquial humorous appellation for a crash-helmet—also, USA, 1942: protective head-covering worn by soldiers
Read Morea young man who, as part of a motorcycle gang, congregates in or around a milk bar—New Zealand, 1951—such gangs congregate there because milk bars stay open long after the shops are shut
Read Moreto corrupt the very essence (of something)—UK, early 19th century—has particularly been used in theological contexts
Read More
