meaning and origin of ‘to be part and parcel of’
from the legal formula ‘part and parcel’, in which both nouns meant ‘an integral portion of something’, the second noun merely reinforcing the first
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meaning and origin of ‘on the spur of the moment’
UK, 1784—elaborated on the archaic ‘on the spur’, which meant ‘in great haste’ and referred to the use of spurs to urge a horse forward
Read MoreWhy ‘ache’ ought to be written ‘ake’.
The spelling ‘ache’ (erroneously derived from Greek ‘ákhos’) instead of ‘ake’ is largely due to Samuel Johnson in A Dictionary of the English Language (1755).
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘nosey parker’
UK, late 19th century—apparently with reference to a probably fictitious individual named Parker, taken as the type of someone inquisitive
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘one’s best bib and tucker’
18th century, of women’s clothes—‘bib’: a piece of cloth worn between throat and waist; ‘tucker’: a piece of lace or linen worn in or around the top of a bodice
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘all Lombard Street to a China orange’
UK (early form: 1763): a fanciful bet wagering the wealth that is available in Lombard Street—a centre of London banking—against something of trifling value
Read More‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’ – ‘the Clapham Sect’
UK—1903: ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’, the average or typical person—1844: ‘the Clapham Sect’, a group of social reformers based at Clapham, London
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to wait for a dead man’s shoes’
mid-16th century—meaning: to wait for the death of a person with the expectancy of succeeding to his possessions or office; implies a futile wait
Read Moreorigin of ‘bedlam’: the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem
late Middle English—early form of ‘Bethlehem’, originally referring to the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, used as an institution for the insane
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘like watching paint dry’
USA, 1959—‘like watching paint dry’ or ‘as —— as watching paint dry’:used to denote an extremely dull activity or experience
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