‘windfall tax’: meaning and origin

a tax levied on an unforeseen or unexpectedly large profit, especially a profit that is considered to be excessive or unfairly obtained—UK, 1909—apparently coined by the British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou

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‘To go to pot’ was originally a ‘culinary’ phrase.

The phrase ‘to go to pot’ means ‘to be ruined or destroyed’, ‘to go to pieces’, ‘to deteriorate through neglect’. The allusion is to the cutting up of meat into pieces ready for the cooking-pot, as several 16th-century texts make clear.

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meaning and origin of ‘to make no bones about something’

MEANING   to have no hesitation in stating, or dealing with, something, however unpleasant or awkward it is   ORIGIN   Always used in the negative, this phrase dates back to the 16th century, originally as to make no bones at or in. It also occurred without a complement, as in its first recorded use, in The first tome or […]

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