‘easy street’: meanings and origin
USA, 1885—a condition of carefreeness, of ease, usually one marked by financial security—also (USA, 1889) in sporting contexts, a situation where winning will be easy
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‘hollow legs’: meaning and origin
USA, 1866—the capacity to eat or drink a lot without ill effects
Read More‘flat-earther’: meaning and origin
a person who believes that the planet Earth is flat—USA, 1896—earlier synonym: ‘flat-earth man’ (UK, 1872) applied to John Hampden (1819-1891)
Read More‘Rasputin’: meaning and origin
a person exercising an insidious or corrupting influence, especially over a ruler, government, etc.—UK, 1917—refers to Grigori Efimovich Rasputin (circa 1869-1916), mystic and influential favourite at the court of Tsar Nicholas II
Read More‘cop shop’: meaning and origin
a police station—USA, 1882—here, the noun ‘cop’ designates a police officer and the noun ‘shop’ designates the place where one works
Read More‘Speakers’ Corner’: meanings and origin
UK, 1923—the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London, near Marble Arch, where public speaking and debate are traditionally permitted with minimal restriction—by extension: any location where public speaking and debate are permitted or encouraged
Read More‘annus horribilis’: meaning and origin
UK, 1867—a disastrous or particularly unpleasant year—Latin, literally ‘a horrible year’—coined after Latin ‘annus mirabilis’, literally ‘an extraordinary year’
Read More‘gallows-humour’: meaning and origin
grim and ironical humour—UK, 1860, in reference to the practice of public executions—UK, 1870, as a loan translation from German ‘Galgenhumor’, in the context of the Franco-Prussian War
Read Morethe noun ‘pig tracks’ in U.S. phrases
in the phrases ‘(as) regular as pig tracks’ (1853) and ‘(as) common as pig tracks’ (1854), the plural noun ‘pig tracks’ is an intensifier—Southern United States
Read Moremore on French ‘femmicide’ & early occurrences of English ‘femicide’
the killing of a woman or girl by a man—French ‘femmicide’: 1839; 1854 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman—English ‘femicide’: 1801; 1827 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman
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