‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’ – ‘the Clapham Sect’
UK—1903: ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus’, the average or typical person—1844: ‘the Clapham Sect’, a group of social reformers based at Clapham, London
Read MoreTag: newspapers & magazines
meaning and origin of ‘to wait for a dead man’s shoes’
mid-16th century—meaning: to wait for the death of a person with the expectancy of succeeding to his possessions or office; implies a futile wait
Read More‘to know one’s onions’ – ‘c’est mes oignons’
US, 1898: ‘to know one’s onion’ (in the singular), to be very knowledgeable about something — French, 1897: ‘c’est mes oignons’, it’s my own business
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘old school tie’
UK, 1929—the attitudes, loyalties, values, etc., associated with British public schools—from the distinctive tie that indicates which school the wearer attended
Read Morea 19th-century document on English phrases
remarks on English phrases (‘to rain cats and dogs’, ‘tit for tat’, ‘the devil to pay’, etc.) – from Notes and Queries (London), 9th November 1861
Read Morethe ancient origin of ‘to pour oil on troubled waters’
alludes to the calming effect of oil on the agitated surface of water; common knowledge since ancient times, first scientifically observed by Benjamin Franklin
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘like watching paint dry’
USA, 1959—‘like watching paint dry’ or ‘as —— as watching paint dry’:used to denote an extremely dull activity or experience
Read Morethe Romany origin of the British ‘chav’
UK, 1990s—either from Romany ‘čhavo’, an unmarried Romani male, a male Romani child, or from English or Anglo-Romany ‘chavvy’, a baby, a child
Read Moreorigin of ‘Linus blanket’ (security blanket)
US, 1958: security blanket—from ‘Linus’, the name of a small boy who carries a blanket for comfort in the comic strip ‘Peanuts’, by Charles M. Schulz
Read Moreorigin of ‘to buttonhole’ (to detain in conversation)
19th cent.—‘button-hold’ was probably mistaken in spoken language for a past form, hence the coinage of ‘buttonhole’ in order to match the original error
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