“ad fontes!”
UK, 1828: an extremely severe clerical schoolmaster—Australia, 1885: any extremely severe magistrate, originally in reference to Parramatta magistrate Samuel Marsden (1765-1838)
Read MoreAustralian slang, 1988—a very small distance or amount—perhaps intended as a humorous variant of ‘bee’s knee’, used of something small, insignificant or weak
Read MoreUSA, 1950—a covert intelligence operation involving illegal entry into premises—alludes to the black bag in which the equipment required for this type of operations was typically carried
Read MoreUK, 1848: a tendency to ‘talk shop’—UK, 1854: something that is characteristic of a shop displaying various kinds of goods (i.e., something that is composed of disparate commonplace elements)
Read MoreUK, 1874—the noun ‘long trousers’ is used in reference to the wearing of long rather than short trousers as a mark of increasing maturity
Read MoreUK, 1851—a person (or persons) or a thing (or things) considered unattractive, inferior or unpleasant, compared to others of the same type or group—alludes to Cinderella’s ugly and unpleasant stepsisters in the fairy tale Cinderella
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USA, 1937—a device with a revolving cage or drum, used in a game of bingo to mix up the numbered balls or slips, or for drawing numbers or prize tickets in a lottery, tombola, etc.
Read MoreUSA, 1815—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read Morea sly, treacherous or deceitful person, especially one who is secretly acting against the interests of the community or organisation to which he or she belongs—mid-19th century
Read MoreUSA, 1858—any man—often in contexts in which a person, especially a woman, is disparagingly characterised as sexually promiscuous or indiscriminate
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word histories 