“ad fontes!”
Canada, 1992—the adverb ‘o’clock’ is colloquially and humorously used with adjectives to denote an unreasonably, excessively or inconveniently early or late hour—as in ‘stupid o’clock’, ‘silly o’clock’, etc.
Read MoreUK, 1759: first applied to Japan—1794 (during the French Revolution): the disparaging use in reference to Britain was popularised by the French phrase ‘nation boutiquière’
Read Moreone’s feet as a means of travel, humorously represented as a form of public transport—from 1887 onwards in the southeastern states of Georgia and Alabama
Read MoreUSA, 1882—one’s boots or feet as a means of travel, humorously represented as a form of public transport—refers to boots with hobnails inserted into the soles
Read MoreUSA, early 1930s—adjectives—‘little-girl-lost’: resembling (that of) a small girl who has lost her way—‘little-boy-lost’: resembling (that of) a small boy who has lost his way
Read MoreBritain, 1782—to evoke or recreate a previous time, state or condition; to make it seem as if no time has passed
Read Moreone who sews up wounds, i.e., a surgeon—also, in later use, a plastic surgeon—first recorded in ’Tis Pitty Shee’s a Whore (1633), by the English playwright John Ford
Read MoreUK, 1749—a playful bite on the skin from a lover; a kiss delivered with a sucking action, leaving a temporary mark on the skin, especially as a sexual act; a mark left on the skin by such a kiss
Read Moreto disrupt; to shake up; to rouse to action—USA, 1902
Read Moreof a vessel: to advance steadily under a favourable wind, without having to change tack or sail—UK, 1807, in reference to the voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to the remote South-Atlantic island of St. Helena
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word histories 