‘hell’s delight’: meaning and early occurrences
early 19th century—pandemonium, great trouble or difficulty—often in ‘to kick up hell’s delight’, meaning: to cause a great deal of trouble or difficulty
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‘to do the block’: meaning and origin
Australia—‘the block’: a street or area in a city or town in which it is fashionable to promenade—‘to do the block’: to promenade in such a street or area—1868, in reference to a section of Collins Street in Melbourne
Read MoreAustralian use of ‘big spit’
1943: the noun ‘big spit’ designates ‘vomiting’—1952: the phrase ‘to go for the big spit’ means ‘to vomit’
Read More‘idée reçue’: meaning and origin
1933—a generally accepted notion or opinion—borrowed from French ‘idée reçue’ (i.e., ‘received idea’)—originally with reference to ‘Dictionnaire des idées reçues’, by Gustave Flaubert
Read More‘lead-pipe cinch’: meaning and early occurrences
a complete certainty—USA, 1887 in the context of horse-racing—of unknown origin
Read More‘Marie Antoinette’: meaning and origin
refers to a person who is ignorant or dismissive of the hardships of others—alludes to the phrase “let them eat cake”, attributed to Marie Antoinette, wife of King of France Louis XVI
Read More‘Marie Celeste’: meanings and origin
is used of a place that is found inexplicably deserted; also of a person’s sudden and inexplicable disappearance—alludes to the Mary Celeste, a U.S. cargo ship which in December 1872 was found mysteriously abandoned in the North Atlantic
Read More‘Chinese fire drill’: meanings and origin
USA—1941 (slang of the Marines): a state of disorder or confusion—1959 (High-School slang): a prank in which the occupants of a vehicle which has temporarily come to a stop must jump out, run around the vehicle and get back in
Read More‘to kick somebody upstairs’: meaning and origin
to promote somebody to an ostensibly higher position where they will be out of the way and less influential—jocular variant of ‘to kick somebody downstairs’, meaning to eject somebody
Read More‘Dutch feast’: meaning and origin
a social occasion where the host gets drunk at an earlier time than the guests—1682?—one of several expressions in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
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