‘one’s cheese slipped off one’s cracker’: meaning and origin
one is no longer rational or sane—USA, 1983
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‘bread-and-cheese living’: meaning and origin
subsistence-level living—UK, 1833—since the 17th century, ‘bread and cheese’ has been used attributively to mean: ordinary, simple, basic
Read More‘gunpowder tea’: meaning and origin
a fine kind of green tea, each leaf of which is rolled up into a pellet—UK, 1767—refers to the resemblance of the pellets to granules of gunpowder
Read More‘silent policeman’: meaning and origin
USA, 1913—a small structure placed at the centre of a road junction which allows vehicles travelling in different directions to cross the junction safely at the same time by driving around the device in the same direction
Read More‘it is the thought that counts’: meaning and origin
the value to the recipient of a gift lies in the goodwill or affection with which the gift is given—USA, 1885—originally in reference to the Christmas season
Read More‘silent highway’: meaning and origin
a navigable river or canal—UK, 1841—originally and chiefly used of the River Thames
Read More‘barbudo’: meanings and origin
USA, 1959—in reference to the Cuban Revolution (1953-59): a revolutionary soldier under the leadership of Fidel Castro—a borrowing from Spanish ‘barbudo’ (literally: a bearded one)
Read More‘Cuban sandwich’: meanings and origin
USA, 1898—a type of sandwich consisting of a long crusty roll filled with ham, pork, cheese, pickles and mustard, often toasted—originally: any of various types of sandwich associated with Cuban cuisine
Read More‘Dutch consolation’: meaning and origin
UK, 1832—consolation taken from the fact that a bad situation is not worse than it is—one of several expressions in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More‘to have come down in the last shower’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1877, & Australia, 1878—to be inexperienced, to be gullible
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