‘a bad day at the office’: meaning and early occurrences
a day on which one has performed badly, especially at work; a day which has been unusually difficult or unsatisfactory—USA, 1895
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‘to get caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar’: meaning and history
to get caught doing something wrong, unauthorised or illegal—USA, 1933
Read More‘locker room’ (modifier): meaning and origin
typical of a men’s locker room, especially in being vulgar or coarse—USA, 1921—originated in golf
Read More‘too close for comfort’: meaning and origin
dangerously or uncomfortably close or near—USA, 1827
Read More‘white-knuckle’: meanings and origin
USA, 1961—of air travel: causing fear of such intensity that one’s knuckles whiten in an anxious grip
Read More‘like a cock at a gooseberry’: meaning and origin
very quickly and without hesitation; eagerly—Scotland and northern England, 1778
Read More‘bathroom humour’: meaning and origin
crude humour centring chiefly on bodily functions—USA, 1931
Read More‘musical chairs’ | ‘chaises musicales’: original meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1865—a Christmas-season party game in which players walk around a decreasing number of chairs while music is played, the loser in each round being the one who fails to find a seat when the music stops
Read More‘not the only onion in the hash’: meaning and origin
not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
Read More‘French flair’ (as applied to rugby): meaning and origin
the distinctive French players’ unconventional, creative and fast-paced style—UK, 1957—perhaps coined by the British sports journalist Michael Melford
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