“ad fontes!”
a police patrol car—UK, 1959—originally any of the special crime police patrol cars used in Lancashire—from the radio call-sign ‘Z’ allotted to such cars—popularised by the British television series ‘Z Cars’ (1962-78)
Read Morethe killing of a woman or girl by a man—French ‘femmicide’: 1839; 1854 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman—English ‘femicide’: 1801; 1827 in the sense of a man who has killed a woman
Read MoreUK, 1982—a profitable undertaking, especially one that is not strenuous or demanding—popularised by the British television series Minder (1979-1989)
Read MoreNew Zealand, 1970—at full speed—perhaps after ‘flat out’ (i.e., with the maximum speed or effort) and after ‘quicksticks’ (i.e., quickly, without delay)
Read MoreUK & Ireland—a shop that sells a wide range of goods at low prices, typically one pound or less—hence also: of the type or quality found in a pound shop, cheap, second-rate
Read Morealso ‘to shoot the red light’, ‘to shoot the amber’, etc.—to drive past a traffic-light when it indicates that one should stop—UK, 1934, as ‘to shoot the lights’
Read Morealso ‘to shoot the red light’, ‘to shoot the amber’, etc.—to drive past a traffic-light when it indicates that one should stop—USA, 1926, as ‘to shoot the yellow’
Read MoreAustralia, 1943—a foolish or silly person—from the synonymous noun ‘dill’ (1933), itself apparently a back-formation from the adjective ‘dilly’, meaning ‘foolish’, ‘silly’
Read Moreindicates that a place or event is one to which guests may or should bring their own alcoholic drink—UK, 1858—USA, 1910—in early U.S. use, often referred to the prohibition of alcohol
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a party to which attendees are encouraged to bring their own drinks, especially alcohol—‘bring-your-own-bottle party’: USA, 1923, in the context of Prohibition—‘bring-a-bottle party’: UK, 1928
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word histories 