‘hair-triggered’: meanings and origin
literally (UK, 1803): of a firearm: equipped with a hair trigger—hence, figuratively (Ireland, 1853): reacting immediately to the slightest provocation or cause
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‘corkscrew curl’: meaning and origin
UK, early 19th century—the noun ‘corkscrew’ is used as a modifier, with the sense spirally twisted, in the expressions ‘corkscrew curl’ and ‘corkscrew ringlet’
Read More‘horse doovers’: meaning and origin
UK, 1851, as ‘haw-doovers’—humorous and colloquial alteration of ‘hors d’oeuvres’, plural of the noun ‘hors d’oeuvre’ (i.e.: an extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite usually before the main meal)
Read More‘bicycle kick’: meaning and origin
UK, 1951—in soccer: an overhead kick, typically executed with the feet off the ground and often involving a shot at goal
Read More‘Strawberry Fields’: meaning and origin
LSD (i.e., lysergic acid diethylamide); also other drugs—USA, 1968—alludes to the Beatles’ song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ (1967)
Read More‘love-glove’: meaning and origin
U.S. slang, 1979—a condom—based on the phonetic similarity between the two nouns that compose it
Read More‘knee-slapper’: meaning and origin
an uproariously funny joke—USA, 1941—the image is of a person slapping their knees in laughter
Read More‘a bad day at the office’: meaning and early occurrences
a day on which one has performed badly, especially at work; a day which has been unusually difficult or unsatisfactory—USA, 1895
Read More‘love handles’: meaning and origin
excess or unwanted fat at the waist—USA, 1960 and 1964, in interviews of Debbie Reynolds—the image is of the waist being held on to during sexual intercourse
Read More‘to get caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar’: meaning and history
to get caught doing something wrong, unauthorised or illegal—USA, 1933
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