‘to turn in one’s grave’: meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1801—said of a dead person: to be likely to have reacted with horror to something if they were still alive to experience it
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‘pecking order’: meanings and origin
1927 (translation of German ‘Hackordnung’): a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status—hence (1929): any hierarchy based on rank or status
Read More‘a horse’s head in one’s bed’: meaning and origin
USA, 1972—a chilling warning given to somebody—from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), in which the severed head of a horse is left as a warning in a film producer’s bed
Read More‘how can you sleep at night?’: meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1806—‘to be able to sleep at night’: to be untroubled by the moral consequences of one’s actions, or by the risks and responsibilities of one’s situation
Read More‘to shoot oneself in the foot’: meaning and origin
USA, 1951—to act in a way that inadvertently damages one’s cause or reputation or spoils one’s chances—alludes to accidental shooting
Read More‘éclair’ (cake): early occurrences and notes on its origin
French, 1848; English, 1861—a small, oblong cake made of choux pastry, filled with cream, and typically topped with chocolate icing—literally ‘lightning’—origin unknown
Read MoreHow French borrowed ‘sentimental’ from English
French, 1769, in Voyage sentimental, a translation by Joseph-Pierre Frenais of A Sentimental Journey (1768) by Laurence Sterne
Read More‘last-chance saloon’: meanings and origin
a final opportunity or hope for success; the last refuge of the unsuccessful or desperate—originally (USA, 1858): a saloon at the edge of a town or at the border between two U.S. states
Read More‘easy street’: meanings and origin
USA, 1885—a condition of carefreeness, of ease, usually one marked by financial security—also (USA, 1889) in sporting contexts, a situation where winning will be easy
Read More‘pas ce soir, Josephine’ : meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1935—jocular—is used by a man to defer his sexual duties to a wife or lover; is also applied to any postponement—translation of the earlier phrase ‘not tonight, Josephine’
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