‘svengali’: meaning and early occurrences
1894—(depreciative) someone who has a controlling influence over another—from the name of the hypnotist under whose spell Trilby falls in ‘Trilby’ (1894), by George Du Maurier
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notes on the phrase ‘social distancing’
21st century: the practice of maintaining a certain distance between oneself and other people in order to prevent infection with a disease—20th century: the practice of maintaining a degree of remoteness or emotional separation from another person or social group
Read Morehistory of the acronym ‘ACAB’
1970—British and Irish English—acronym from the phrase ‘all coppers are bastards’—customarily written (tattooed in particular) rather than spoken
Read Morethe ‘Apaches’ of Paris: meaning and origin
circa 1900: by association with the reputed ferocity of the North-American Indian people, ‘Apache’ came to designate a violent street ruffian in Paris
Read More‘who says romance is dead?’: meaning and early occurrences
used ironically of something regarded as prosaic or even thoroughly vulgar—USA, 1869—‘romance’: romantic love idealised for its purity or beauty
Read More‘Flypaper Act’ | ‘to be under, or on, the flypaper’
UK slang, 1906—‘Flypaper Act’: the Prevention of Crimes Act—‘to be under, or on, the flypaper’: to be subject to the Prevention of Crimes Act
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘curse you, Red Baron!’
colourful way of railing at someone—USA, 1967—from Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts: Snoopy as a WW1 fighter pilot falls victim to German ace Manfred von Richthofen
Read More‘your policemen are wonderful’: meaning and history
1928—used of British police officers, chiefly those of London, by persons, mostly women, visiting the United Kingdom—became rapidly a cliché used jocularly
Read More‘booze cruise’ #1: a Scottish acceptation
1950—Sunday trip by car or bus, making use of the bona fide clause in licensing laws, by which non-residents got alcohol—coined by Scottish novelist George Blake
Read Morea Briticism: ‘lollipop’ in reference to school crossing
1957—circular sign on a pole held up to stop traffic so that children may cross the road near a school—person who stops traffic by holding up such a sign
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