‘to throw away the scabbard’: meaning and origin
to abandon all thought of making peace—1658—originally in the proverb ‘who draws his sword against his prince, must throw away the scabbard’ and variants
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‘cakehole’: meaning and origin
a person’s mouth—British-Army slang, 1916
Read More‘kangaroo-ship’: meaning and origin
1910s—a ship designed to carry submarines—likens the submarines carried in such ships to the immature young nursed in the abdominal pouch of female kangaroos
Read More‘O’Grady says’: meaning and origin
a game in which players must obey a leader’s instructions if, but only if, they are prefaced with the words ‘O’Grady says’—UK, 1917—game invented during World War One as a play-way for conducting physical exercises and drill in the British Army
Read More‘hell’s delight’: meaning and early occurrences
early 19th century—pandemonium, great trouble or difficulty—often in ‘to kick up hell’s delight’, meaning: to cause a great deal of trouble or difficulty
Read More‘Billjim’: meanings and origin
Australia—1897: the typical bushman—1915: the typical Australian private soldier—a blend of the male forenames ‘Bill’ and ‘Jim’, as often used of bushmen
Read More‘Chinese fire drill’: meanings and origin
USA—1941 (slang of the Marines): a state of disorder or confusion—1959 (High-School slang): a prank in which the occupants of a vehicle which has temporarily come to a stop must jump out, run around the vehicle and get back in
Read More‘shoppiness’: meanings and early occurrences
UK, 1848: a tendency to ‘talk shop’—UK, 1854: something that is characteristic of a shop displaying various kinds of goods (i.e., something that is composed of disparate commonplace elements)
Read More‘close shave’: meaning and origin
a narrow escape from danger, disaster or mishap—UK, 1820—refers to the act of shaving with a cutthroat razor, which may result in injury
Read More‘conchie’: meaning and origin
a conscientious objector—UK, 1916—from the initial syllable of the noun ‘conscientious objector’ and the suffix ‘-ie’, used to form familiar diminutives
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