origin of the catchphrase ‘Alas! my poor brother’
from an advertisement for the concentrated beef extract Bovril, showing a bullock lamenting over a jar of the product
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meaning and origin of the phrase ‘Benjamin’s portion’
UK, 1753—the largest share—alludes to Genesis, 43:34, where Benjamin receives the largest portion of food from his brother Joseph
Read Moreorigin and sense development of Anglo-Irish ‘bejesus’
1825, Anglo-Irish alteration of ‘by Jesus’—1867 as one word—‘the bejesus out of’ (1931) intensifies the action conveyed by the preceding verb
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘like the clappers’
very fast, or very hard—UK, 1942, RAF slang—alludes to the moving metal piece within a bell, which strikes it and produces the sound
Read Moreorigin of the Scottish and Irish phrase ‘on the buroo’ (‘on the dole’)
Scotland, 1914: ‘buroo’, informal form of ‘bureau’ (generic sense)—later used specifically in the sense of Labour Bureau, hence of unemployment benefit (1921)
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘dirty work at the crossroads’
UK, 1906—dishonest or illicit dealings—probably alludes to crossroads as settings for sinister actions, in particular to their former use as burial places for suicides
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British phrase ‘(as) daft as a brush’
1892, as ‘mazed as a brish’ (Devon)—meaning: extremely stupid—possible origin: anything is daft that does all the hard work
Read Morea hypothesis as to the origin of the phrase ‘a Chinaman’s chance’
USA, 1893—a negligible likelihood—might refer to the fact that the Chinese had little prospect of obtaining reparations for racial discrimination
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘a bad quarter of an hour’
UK, 1755—loan translation from French ‘un mauvais quart d’heure’ (1710), which has also been used in English since 1830
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘away with the fairies’
Irish English, 1907—out of touch with reality—ultimately refers to the belief that the fairies spirit away human beings
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