‘you’ve shot your granny’: meaning and early occurrences
to be mistaken or disappointed—USA,1840, as ‘you shot your granny in the eye with a baked apple’
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‘English as she is spoke’: meaning and origin
broken English—UK, 1883—from ‘English As She is Spoke: or A Jest in Sober Earnest’ (London: Field & Tuer, 1883), title given to a book intended as a Portuguese-English conversational guide
Read More‘even paranoids have enemies’: meaning and origin
retort to the accusation of being paranoid (i.e., of seeing imaginary enemies)—USA, 1966—often ascribed to U.S. poet Delmore Schwartz
Read More‘from marbles to manslaughter’: meaning and origin
meaning: any possible thing, event, or situation is envisaged or found—UK, 1839—image of a scope ranging from the most innocuous to the most harmful
Read More‘nice but dim’: meaning and early occurrences
a person regarded as good-natured but also not ‘bright’ intellectually—UK, 1981—Australia, 1982—USA, 1986
Read More‘the only pebble on the beach’: meaning and early occurrences
the only person or thing to be considered in a particular situation—USA, 1895—popularised by 1896 song ‘You’re Not the Only Pebble on the Beach’
Read More‘plain vanilla’ | ‘vanilla sex’: early occurrences
from the popular perception of vanilla as the ordinary, bland flavour of ice-cream—USA—‘plain vanilla’ 1934—‘vanilla sex’ 1960
Read More‘(you’re) damned if you do and damned if you don’t’
means that, in a specific situation, a person will be blamed or considered wrong no matter what he or she does—USA, 1817—originally used in Christian contexts
Read More‘someone’s blood is worth bottling’: meaning and early occurrences
a statement of praise or admiration—Australia, 1903—also used, in particular, by Irish author Brendan Behan (1923-1964)
Read More‘you’ll be smoking next’: meaning and early occurrences
used to rebuke someone, especially, jocularly, for an act far more improper or audacious than mere tobacco-smoking—USA, 1889
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