“ad fontes!”
Australia, 1976—used by Aborigines to depreciatively designate unemployment or welfare benefits—‘sit-down’ means: performed or obtained while sitting down, with the implication that no or few efforts are required
Read MoreAustralia, 1932: to attract unwelcome attention or criticism—originally, WWI slang: to draw artillery fire from the enemy, in reference to crab shells, used with punning allusion to artillery shells
Read MoreUK, 1979—to sell a valuable resource or asset for immediate advantage—in particular: to dispose of a nation’s assets for financial gain—‘family silver’: something considered to be of great value, materially or otherwise
Read MoreAustralia—in Australian Rules football: used as a call to discourage or distract a player in a rival team attempting to kick for goal—more widely: used to deride a person or organisation deemed to be performing poorly, or to wish someone bad luck—‘chewy’ = ‘chewing gum’
Read MoreAustralia, 1953—to flatter someone or to (seek to) ingratiate oneself with someone, to curry favour with someone—cf. 19th-century British phrase ‘to piss down someone’s back’ (to flatter someone)
Read MoreAustralia, 1925—a section of Sussex Street, on the Sydney waterfront, along which, in the 1920s and 1930s, unemployed wharf-labourers trudged, waiting to be handpicked for the few available jobs
Read MoreUSA, 1831—very rare—since the late 17th century, the expression ‘hen’s teeth’ has been used as a type of something which is extremely rare, unattainable or non-existent
Read Morehumorous variant of ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’—USA, 1929—refers to the phrase ‘the law of the Medes and Persians’, denoting something which cannot be altered
Read MoreAustralia, 1846—the name of a coarse green tea drunk in the bush—this name referred to the colour of this tea and to its awful taste
Read Morehumorous variant of ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’—USA, 1938—used in particular to play on the surnames ‘Mead’ and ‘Meade’
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word histories 