‘every little helps’: meaning and origin
every contribution towards a goal is valuable, regardless of how small it may be—UK, 1707—in Britain, particularly associated with Tesco, which has used this phrase as its slogan since 1993
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‘Tardis’: meanings and origin
various meanings, in particular: something with a larger capacity than its outward appearance suggests—UK, 1968—the name, in TV series Doctor Who, of a time machine outwardly resembling a police telephone box, yet inwardly much larger
Read More‘not cricket’: meanings and origin
the game of cricket played in the incorrect manner or improper spirit—hence, more generally, something contrary to traditional standards of fairness or rectitude—UK, 19th century
Read More‘to be all fingers and thumbs’: meaning and origin
also ‘to be all thumbs’—to be extremely clumsy (i.e., lacking in manual dexterity)—19th century—variants of the original phrase ‘each finger is a thumb’, already proverbial in the mid-16th century
Read More‘blood wagon’: meaning and origin
UK—an ambulance (i.e., a vehicle designed to carry sick or injured people)—originally (Royal Air Force slang, 1921): a specially equipped airplane for carrying sick or injured people
Read More‘grass widow’: meanings and origin
a married woman living apart from her husband (18th century)—originally (16th century) an unmarried woman who has borne an illegitimate child—alludes to a bed of grass as a typical place for illicit sexual intercourse
Read More‘Franken-’: meanings and origin
forms nouns with the sense ‘genetically modified ——’; also, occasionally, with the sense ‘—— relating to genetic modification’—first used in 1992 by Paul Lewis to form ‘Frankenfood’—from ‘Frankenstein’, the title character of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel
Read More‘Frankenstein food’: meanings and origin
genetically modified food—but had been used earlier by members of Weight Watchers in the sense of food one is addicted to—in reference to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read More‘Frankenstein’s monster’: meaning and origin
also ‘Frankenstein’—a creation over which the creator loses control, eventually being destroyed by it—UK, 1822—alludes to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read More‘the only game in town’: meaning and origin
the only option worth considering—USA, 1904—from the story (1894) of a man who is so addicted to faro that he takes part in a game despite knowing it to be rigged, because it is the only game available in town
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