‘royal we’: meaning and origin

31st Oct 2021.Reading time 19 minutes.

UK, 1821—‘we’ used in place of ‘I’ by a monarch or other person in power, also (frequently humorously) by any individual—originated as a loan translation from French ‘nous royal’, as used of Napoléon Bonaparte by Madame de Staël in her memoirs published in 1821

‘Torygraph’, and other newspaper nicknames

3rd May 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

‘The Daily Telegraph’: nicknamed ‘Torygraph’ for its adherence to Conservative Party—the ‘Daily Mail’: nicknamed ‘Daily Heil’ for its support for Fascists in the 1930s

meaning and origin of the phrase ‘like turkeys voting for Christmas’

11th Jan 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

(of an action or decision) hopelessly self-defeating—UK, 1979, with reference to the Scottish National Party’s decision to vote with the Tories

‘handbag’: how Thatcher enriched the English language

16th Mar 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

‘handbag’: to bully or coerce by subjecting to a forthright verbal assault or criticism—originally used with reference to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Economist (7 August 1982)—from literal meaning ‘to batter or assault with a handbag’

some British uses of ‘the enemy within’

4th Aug 2017.Reading time 11 minutes.

a threat within a community, nation, etc., as distinct from an external enemy—infamously used of British miners’ leaders by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984

word histories

Tag: Margaret Thatcher