“ad fontes!”
UK, 1956, children’s slang—an act of placing both hands on a person’s wrist or arm and then twisting it to produce a burning sensation—alludes to the fiendish methods of torture attributed to the Chinese
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UK, 1987—a young man who behaves in an unpleasant or aggressive manner as a result of drinking (typically lager) excessively—lager, a pale beer, is favoured by the young as opposed to the dark, traditional bitter English beer
Read MoreAustralia, 1830—refers to the Aboriginal belief that light-skinned persons are reincarnations of dead Aborigines—extended forms: ‘jump up white fellow, plenty of sixpence’ and ‘go down blackfellow and jump up whitefellow’
Read MoreIrish English, 1834—extremely cold, literally (i.e., with reference to low temperatures) and figuratively (i.e., with reference to lack of feeling, of emotion)
Read MoreAustralia, 1902—to be extremely weak or incompetent at fighting; to be completely ineffectual or inept—‘to fight one’s way out of a paper bag’: to accomplish a very easy task
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UK and Ireland, since 1913—this jocular phrase has been used as an ironic expression of gratitude and as a goodbye
Read MoreUSA, 1876: from beginning to end, completely, exhaustively—literal meaning, 1852: all the successive parts of a meal, from soup at the beginning to nuts at the end
Read MoreUK—originated in British-Army slang, first to designate an unintelligent person (1943), then any ordinary soldier of the lowest ranks (1945)—finally also, in civilian usage: any ordinary person (1947)
Read MoreAmerican English, 1823—meaning: if one is falsely reputed to act in a specific manner, then one may as well act in that manner
Read Moredirty fingernails—1906—British and Irish English—but the comparison between the dirt edging the fingernails and the black border edging mourning paper dates back to the 19th century
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