‘to get one’s act together’: meanings and origin
USA, 1900: to get a stage act ready—Canada, 1961: to organise oneself to undertake or achieve something—from ‘to get together’ (i.e., to organise, put in order, harmonise)
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‘to shoot a traffic-light’: early British uses
also ‘to shoot the red light’, ‘to shoot the amber’, etc.—to drive past a traffic-light when it indicates that one should stop—UK, 1934, as ‘to shoot the lights’
Read More‘to shoot a traffic-light’: early American uses
also ‘to shoot the red light’, ‘to shoot the amber’, etc.—to drive past a traffic-light when it indicates that one should stop—USA, 1926, as ‘to shoot the yellow’
Read More‘dillbrain’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1943—a foolish or silly person—from the synonymous noun ‘dill’ (1933), itself apparently a back-formation from the adjective ‘dilly’, meaning ‘foolish’, ‘silly’
Read More‘slanguist’: meanings and origin
USA, 1871: a person who frequently uses or coins slang words and phrases—USA, 1926: a person who studies the use and historical development of slang—blend of the nouns ‘slang’ and ‘linguist’
Read More‘pig in the middle’: meanings and origin
UK—a ball game for three players, in which the middle player tries to intercept the ball as it passes between the other two—hence: a person, party, etc., caught between others in a conflict, dispute, etc.
Read More‘an officer and a gentleman’: meaning and origin
a person embodying the civilised qualities supposedly characteristic of both an officer in the armed forces and a gentleman—UK, 1749, in the Articles of War
Read More‘bring your own booze’ | ‘bring your own bottle’
indicates that a place or event is one to which guests may or should bring their own alcoholic drink—UK, 1858—USA, 1910—in early U.S. use, often referred to the prohibition of alcohol
Read More‘on one’s Jack Jones’: meaning and origin
‘on one’s own’—UK, 1926—‘Jack Jones’ is rhyming slang for ‘alone’, or for ‘own’ in ‘on one’s own’
Read More‘ambulance-chaser’: meaning and origin
New York City, 1896—a lawyer who seeks accident victims as clients and encourages them to sue for damages—refers to lawyers, or their agents, following ambulances taking accident victims to hospital, in order to gain access to those victims
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