“ad fontes!”
UK, 1851, as ‘haw-doovers’—humorous and colloquial alteration of ‘hors d’oeuvres’, plural of the noun ‘hors d’oeuvre’ (i.e.: an extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite usually before the main meal)
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UK, 1951—in soccer: an overhead kick, typically executed with the feet off the ground and often involving a shot at goal
Read MoreLSD (i.e., lysergic acid diethylamide); also other drugs—USA, 1968—alludes to the Beatles’ song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ (1967)
Read Moreexceedingly or immeasurably old—Britain, 1762—perhaps alludes to the fact that a hill is a permanent feature of a particular landscape
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U.S. slang, 1979—a condom—based on the phonetic similarity between the two nouns that compose it
Read Morea day on which one has performed badly, especially at work; a day which has been unusually difficult or unsatisfactory—USA, 1895
Read Moreto get caught doing something wrong, unauthorised or illegal—USA, 1933
Read Moretypical of a men’s locker room, especially in being vulgar or coarse—USA, 1921—originated in golf
Read Moredangerously or uncomfortably close or near—USA, 1827
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USA, 1961—of air travel: causing fear of such intensity that one’s knuckles whiten in an anxious grip
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word histories 