‘wait and see’: from Prime Minister to friction-matches
gained currency in 1910 from Prime Minister Asquith’s repeated use in reply to questions in Parliament—hence WWI slang for French matches difficult to ignite
Read MoreTag: phrases
a pessimistic phrase: ‘every silver lining has a cloud’
every comforting or hopeful situation has a sad or unpleasant side to it—pessimistic reversal of ‘every cloud has a silver lining’—1900 (already clichéd)
Read Moremeanings of the Irish-English phrase ‘like snuff at a wake’
1844—various senses, especially ‘hither and thither’ and ‘lavishly’—from the custom of sharing snuff during a vigil held beside the body of someone who has died
Read Morethe phrase ‘to spend money as if it were going out of fashion’
British and Irish—to spend money as if it were worthless or soon to become so—first (from 1962 onwards) as a misogynistic cliché hammered by the Liverpool Echo
Read Morenotes on the British phrase ‘some mothers do have ’em’
1941—expresses exasperation or derision at a clumsy, erratic or idiotic person—popularised by Jimmy Clitheroe in his radio programme The Clitheroe Kid (1958-72)
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘does your mother know you’re out?’
Irish English, 1836—mocking or condescending question addressed to a person whose behaviour is regarded as puerile or inappropriate
Read Moremeanings and origin of the British phrase ‘gin and Jaguar’
1963—refers to the wealthy English middle-class people, characterised as drinking gin and driving luxury cars such as Jaguars, and to the areas where they live
Read Moremeaning and history of ‘spring forward, fall back’
USA, 1936—serves as a mnemonic for remembering to set the clocks when daylight-saving time comes into effect and when it ends
Read Moremeanings and origin of the British phrase ‘(dark) satanic mills’
UK, 1913—industrial mills—working places characterised by dehumanising forms of labour—from ‘And did those feet in ancient time’, by the English poet William Blake
Read Moremeanings and history of ‘the usual suspects’
USA, 1932—originally used of the impunity enjoyed by gangsters when one of them was murdered—therefore, did not originate in the 1942 film Casablanca
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