‘power behind the throne’: meaning and origin
a person who covertly exercises power by personal influence over a ruler or government without having any formal authority—ascribed to William Pitt the Elder by William Godwin in 1783
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‘more power to your elbow’: meaning and origin
Ireland, 1826—an expression of approval or support for a person who is involved in an activity that the speaker regards as praiseworthy
Read More‘more people know Tom Fool than Tom Fool knows’: meaning and origin
used in a situation in which someone is recognised by a person or persons whom he or she does not know or recognise—1722 in Colonel Jack, by Daniel Defoe—1656 with ‘the clown’ instead of ‘Tom Fool’
Read More‘an iron hand in a velvet glove’: meaning and origin
1815—inner ruthlessness and determination disguised in outward gentleness and courtesy—loan translation from French ‘une main de fer dans un gant de velours’ (1814)
Read More‘to iron out the wrinkles’: meaning and origin
USA, second half of the 19th century—to eliminate minor difficulties—the image is of removing the creases from a piece of fabric, using a hot iron
Read More‘to add insult to injury’: meaning and origin
UK, 1748, as ‘to add insult to injuries’—to act in a way that makes matters worse in a bad situation or when somebody has already been hurt or upset
Read More‘a trout in the milk’: meaning and origin
highly convincing circumstantial evidence—USA, 1862—ascribed to Henry David Thoreau—refers to the practice of surreptitiously diluting milk with stream-water
Read More‘what has that got to do with the price of tea in China?’: meaning and origin
USA, 1930—a rhetorical question calling attention to a non-sequitur or irrelevant statement or suggestion made by another person—one of the phrases built on the pattern ‘what has that got to do with the price of ——?’
Read More‘under the radar’: meaning and origin
USA, 1969—the phrases ‘off the radar’, ‘under the radar’ and ‘below the radar’ are used of something or someone that cannot be detected—the reference is to an aircraft flying too low to be detected by a radar
Read More‘a blot on the landscape’: meaning and origin
UK, 1813, as ‘to blot the landscape’, meaning, of an ugly feature, to spoil the appearance of a place—also used figuratively of anything unsightly or unappealing that spoils an otherwise pleasant scene
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