‘Charlie (Big) Potatoes’: meaning and origin
a rich and important man—USA, 1958, as ‘Charlie Potatoes’—UK, 1995, as ‘Charlie Big Potatoes’— ‘Charlie’: generic term for a man—‘potatoes’: perhaps slang for ‘money’, ‘dollars’
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‘to make a horlicks of (something)’: meaning and origin
to make a mess of (something)—UK, 1970—used in reference to the trade-name of a malted milk-powder—perhaps as a euphemism for some crude word
Read More‘jobsworth’: meaning and origin
a person in authority who insists on adhering to rules even at the expense of common sense—1965, in the British pop-music milieu—from ‘job’s worth’ in the phrase ‘to be more than one’s job’s worth’
Read More‘I wouldn’t piss on (a person) if (that person) were on fire’: meaning and origin
‘I feel intense dislike or contempt for (a person)’—USA, 1950—also occasionally used of miserliness
Read More‘cardbordeaux’: meaning and origin
bag-in-box wine—USA, 2006—a blend of ‘cardboard’ (in reference to the outer packaging of bag-in-box wine) and of ‘Bordeaux’ (in reference to the wine made in the Bordeaux region of France)
Read More‘Chateau Cardboard’: meaning and origin
bag-in-box wine—South Africa, 1983—based on the contrast between ‘château’ (referring to expensive wines of superior quality) and ‘cardboard’ (referring to inexpensive bag-in-box wines)
Read More‘scumbag’: meanings and origin
USA, 1953: a base, despicable person—from ‘scumbag’ in the sense of ‘a condom’ (here, the noun ‘scum’ is slang for ‘semen’)
Read More‘to put a zipper on somebody’s mouth’: meaning and origin
to make somebody stop talking, or to prevent somebody from talking—USA, 1930—refers to the noun ‘zipper’, designating a fastening device
Read More‘purrfect’: meaning and origin
USA, 1876—perfect, especially in cat-related contexts—colloquial, humorous blend of ‘purr’ and ‘perfect’
Read More‘zip-lipped’: meanings and origin
having the lips tightly closed—hence, figuratively: uncommunicative, determinedly reticent—USA, 1942—refers to the noun ‘zip’, designating a fastening device
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