“ad fontes!”
with reference to the Jewish prohibition of the eating of pork—‘as scarce as pork chops in a Jewish boarding house’ (USA, 1907) means ‘extremely rare’—‘like a pork chop in a synagogue’ (USA, 1915) means ‘out of place’; also ‘unwelcome’ or ‘unpopular’
Read More
Australia, 1980—a contented person—originated in advertisements for Vegemite, a type of savoury spread made from yeast extract and vegetable extract
Read MoreUK, 2001—used as a self-designation by persons with left-wing political views who think of themselves as being better in touch with reality than champagne socialists are—coined after, and in contrast to, ‘champagne socialist’
Read MoreAustralia, 1985—a person who espouses socialist ideals while enjoying a wealthy lifestyle—coined after the synonymous expression ‘champagne socialist’—popularised by Emerald City (1987), by the Australian playwright David Williamson
Read MoreAustralia, 1930—a humorous extended form of ‘flat out’, meaning ‘with the maximum speed or effort’ (apparently with wordplay on ‘flat out’, meaning ‘lying stretched out’)—has occasionally been used in the opposite sense
Read MoreAustralia, 1972—a person, usually a man, who, in spite of a superficial smartness, is untrustworthy—‘rat’ refers to a deceitful or disloyal man—the image is that, despite the gold tooth, a rat’s basic nature cannot change
Read MoreAustralia, 1928—an outstandingly good person or thing—variant of the synonymous jocular expressions, of U.S. origin, based on various parts of animals’ real or fanciful anatomy and other attributes, such as ‘the bee’s knees’ and ‘the cat’s whiskers’
Read More
Australia, 1941—to be in a state of confusion—has come to be also used with reference to sexual orientation or gender identity
Read MoreAustralia, 1935—meaning: ‘to deliberately ignore someone’s presence, request, etc.’—has erroneously been said to have originated in army slang during the Second World War
Read More1695—This phrase means ‘having an appearance of respectability’. The image of a prostitute at a christening is used to indicate that a person is out of place in a particular situation.
Read More
word histories 