‘that way madness lies’: meaning and origin
UK, 1811—a proposed course of action is bound to lead to disaster—quotation from King Lear, a tragedy by William Shakespeare
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‘even a stopped clock is right twice a day’
UK, 1711—means that anyone can be right occasionally, if only by chance—often used specifically to suggest that one holding a fixed belief regardless of changing circumstances will occasionally, if rarely, be correct
Read More‘low man on the totem (pole)’: meaning and origin
USA, 1941—the person with the least amount of experience, authority and/or influence in a group or organisation—apparently coined, as ‘low man on any totem pole’, by comedian Fred Allen in a portrait of his friend, humorist H. Allen Smith
Read More‘champagne socialist’: meanings and early occurrences
USA, 1906: a person who advocates equality for all people at a high level of prosperity (i.e., who believes in champagne for everybody)—UK, 1956: a person who espouses socialist ideals while enjoying a wealthy lifestyle
Read More‘limousine liberal’: meaning and early occurrences
USA, 1919—a person who espouses socialist ideals while enjoying a wealthy lifestyle—‘limousine’: a luxury motor car with a compartment for the passengers and a separate compartment for the driver
Read More‘to have two left feet’ and synonymous phrases
‘to have two left feet’: to be clumsy or awkward—postdates synonymous ‘to have two left hands’ (1815), loan translation of French ‘avoir deux mains gauches’—‘left’ has long been associated with inferior performance, awkwardness and insincerity
Read Morehistory of ‘piece of work’ (unpleasant person)
literal meaning, 1473: something produced or manufactured—1534: an arduous task—1810: a commotion, a fuss—1623: ‘a filthy piece of work’ is applied to a person in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens
Read Moreearly figurative uses of ‘domino’
USA, 1954—used of a theory that a political event or development in one country, etc., will lead to its occurrence in others—the image is of a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall
Read More‘worm’s-eye view’: meaning and origin
USA, 1898—a view as seen from below or from a humble position—refers to a view taken as from the standpoint of a worm, i.e. from ground-level—coined after ‘bird’s-eye view’ (1782), denoting a view of a landscape from above, such as is presented to the eye of a bird
Read More‘to have a person’s name on it’: meanings and origin
‘to be destined or appropriate for a particular person’—originated during the First World War as ‘to have a person’s name and number on it’, and meant, of a bullet, etc., ‘to be destined to hit a particular person’
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word histories 