Tag: phonetics

meaning and origin of ‘donkey’s years’

.Reading time 8 minutes.

MEANING   The phrase donkey’s years means a very long time.   ORIGIN   This expression is inseparable from donkey’s ears. In fact, these two expressions were originally a single one, donkey’s years being simply a dialectal pronunciation of donkey’s ears—or the other way around. And donkey’s ears/years (also donkeys’ ears/years) was part of a […]

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meaning and origin of ‘teetotum’

.Reading time 3 minutes.

The word teetotum, which dates back to the 18th century, denotes a small four-sided disk or die having an initial letter inscribed on each of its sides, and a spindle passing down through it by which it could be twirled or spun with the fingers like a small top, the letter which lay uppermost, when […]

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