‘white-knuckle’: meanings and origin
USA, 1961—of air travel: causing fear of such intensity that one’s knuckles whiten in an anxious grip
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‘like a cock at a gooseberry’: meaning and origin
very quickly and without hesitation; eagerly—Scotland and northern England, 1778
Read More‘bathroom humour’: meaning and origin
crude humour centring chiefly on bodily functions—USA, 1931
Read More‘musical chairs’ | ‘chaises musicales’: original meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1865—a Christmas-season party game in which players walk around a decreasing number of chairs while music is played, the loser in each round being the one who fails to find a seat when the music stops
Read More‘not the only onion in the hash’: meaning and origin
not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
Read More‘French flair’ (as applied to rugby): meaning and origin
the distinctive French players’ unconventional, creative and fast-paced style—UK, 1957—perhaps coined by the British sports journalist Michael Melford
Read More‘free shave tomorrow’: meanings and origin
USA, 1871—is used of any incentive or reward that is perpetually promised but never actually delivered—refers to a sign displayed as an advertisement for a barber’s shop
Read More‘free beer tomorrow’: meanings and origin
USA, 1889—is used of any incentive or reward that is perpetually promised but never actually delivered—refers to a sign displayed as an advertisement for a pub
Read More‘to fiddle while Rome burns’: meaning and origin
UK, 1770—as ‘Nero fiddled whilst Rome was burning’, in a swipe at King George III, by John Horne
Read More‘two more and up goes the donkey’: meanings and origin
UK, 1834—an old cry used at fairs, the showman promising his audience that as soon as enough pennies are collected, his donkey will balance itself on the top of a ladder
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