“ad fontes!”
It has been said that ‘(as) right as a trivet’ an alteration of ‘(as) tight as a rivet’. But the latter phrase, which postdates the former, originally meant ‘extremely tight’, not ‘thoroughly or perfectly right’.
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foul-smelling breath caused by smoking—USA, 1931, in advertisements for Old Golds, a U.S. brand of cigarettes
Read More1988, Australia & USA—apathy, indifference or mental exhaustion arising from exposure to too much information—especially stress induced by the attempt to assimilate excessive amounts of information from the media, the Internet or at work
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UK, derogatory—a male van driver, often of a white van, whose driving is selfish and aggressive—1997, in a report issued by the Freight Transport Association
Read Moreis used of waterlogged land—USA,1859—Australia, 1874—now chiefly Australian
Read MoreUK, 1793—a drink made from an egg yolk whisked into warm water, used as a remedy for colds—loan translation from French ‘lait de poule’ (1746)
Read MoreUK, 1827—a mood or attitude appropriate to the Christmas season, especially one involving feelings of goodwill, benevolence and a willingness to enjoy oneself
Read MoreUK, 1867—a disastrous or particularly unpleasant year—Latin, literally ‘a horrible year’—coined after Latin ‘annus mirabilis’, literally ‘an extraordinary year’
Read MoreUK, 1837—very weak tea—from the fact that the wife drank the first brew, and then, to make her husband’s tea, filled the pot with water, adding no fresh leaves
Read Morepeople who meet for a short time, by chance, and then do not see each other again—people who, although living together, are unable to see very much of each other—coined in 1873 by the U.S. poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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word histories 