‘beeswax’ (i.e., ‘business’): meaning and origin
U.S. slang, 1908—the noun ‘beeswax’ is humorously substituted for the noun ‘business’ (i.e., things that are one’s concern), these two nouns sharing a similar-sounding initial syllable
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‘Cambridgeshire nightingale’: meaning and origin
UK, 1844—the edible frog (‘Rana esculenta’)—in reference to Cambridgeshire, a county of eastern England, and to the frog’s nocturnal croaking
Read More‘seven years’ bad luck’: meaning and origin
UK, 1813—a period of bad luck superstitiously believed to be the consequence of breaking a mirror or, occasionally, of another action or incident
Read More‘Dutch nightingale’: meaning and origin
1710: any of various species of frog producing a call or song—one of several phrases in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More‘Dutch concert’: meanings and origin
1755: a musical performance in which each participant plays or sings a different tune—1759: a confused or discordant medley—one of several phrases in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More‘to take Dutch leave’: meaning and origin
1851—to depart unnoticed or without permission—one of several phrases in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read Morenotes on ‘England and America are two countries separated by the same language’
USA, 1942—has often been attributed to the Irish author George Bernard Shaw—has occasionally been applied to the relations between Australia and the USA
Read More‘Chatty Cathy’: meaning and origin
USA, 1949—a person (originally and chiefly a girl or a woman) who is especially talkative—popularised from 1960 onwards by a proprietary name for a child’s talking doll manufactured by Mattel
Read More‘Skinny Lizzie’: meaning and origin
UK, 1916—a scrawny girl or woman—may have originated in the title of a successful song (and in the name of an equally popular character) created in 1911 by the comedienne Lily Long
Read More‘new kid on the block’: meaning and origin
USA, 1911: a newcomer—but, from 1903 onwards, as ‘new kid in one’s block’: a child who has recently moved into the block where one lives—‘block’: a group of buildings in a city bounded by intersecting streets on each side
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