meaning and origin of ‘pour encourager les autres’
The phrase ‘pour encourager les autres’ (‘in order to encourage the others’) was coined by Voltaire with reference to the execution of Admiral John Byng in 1757.
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meaning and origin of the term ‘loose cannon’
Figuratively, a loose cannon is an unpredictable or uncontrolled person who is liable to cause unintentional damage. But in practice, it was one inadequately lashed in place on the deck of a ship, which caused havoc by rolling dangerously and unpredictably. The first known mention of a loose cannon being tossed about the deck of […]
Read Moremeaning and origin of the word ‘grog’
According to the National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy, in 1731 rum was made an official issue to seamen and the daily half pint was issued in two equal parts, one in the morning and the other in the evening. This was neat spirit and drunkenness became rife especially on the West Indies […]
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘tell that to the marines’
“HUNS KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN!” “TELL THAT TO THE MARINES!” First-World-War US recruiting poster by James Montgomery Flagg image: Disappearing Idioms This poster, which attracted a great deal of attention, portrays an angry-looking young man in the act of pulling off his coat as though he were anxious to get into a fight. The […]
Read Morethe authentic origin of ‘apple-pie order’
The compound apple-pie order means perfect order or neatness. Its first known user was a British Royal Navy officer, Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley (1734-1808), in his journal in 1780: Exercised Great Guns and small Arms as I constantly do every Tuesday and Friday, and fired Volleys; Wash and Fumigate, Wednesdays and Saturdays, Air Spare Sails […]
Read Moremeanings and history of the name ‘Rotten Row’
the Rotten-row in Glasgow, circa 1570 image: The Glasgow Story The street name Rotten Row occurs in many different towns. For example, The Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh) of 10th December 1728 published the following advertisement: There is just come to Leith, a Parcel of fine Figs both in Casks and Frails [= baskets], […]
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘forlorn hope’
MEANING a persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled, a faint hope, a ‘hope against hope’ ORIGIN On the face of it, this is a curious expression, because the adjective forlorn does not normally mean faint but miserable, lonely, forsaken or sad. The current sense of forlorn hope derives […]
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘gongoozler’
The noun ‘gongoozler’, denoting a person who stares protractedly at anything, originally designated an idler who stares at length at activity on a canal.
Read Morethe gruesome origin of ‘Harriet Lane’ and ‘Fanny Adams’
MEANING The Northern Daily Mail and South Durham Herald (Hartlepool, County Durham, England) of 14th July 1894 published an article titled Naval Slang. How Jack Re-christens Things, which contains the following: The preserved meat served out to him is known as “Fanny Adams” or “Harriet Lane.” But the term Harriet Lane was also […]
Read MoreThe exclamation ‘OMG’ was coined in 1917.
The exclamation OMG expresses astonishment, excitement, embarrassment, etc. It is from the initial letters of oh my God (the final element may sometimes represent gosh or goodness). This initialism is older than the Internet or even the Usenet (an early computer network established in 1980), since it is first found in a letter that the […]
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