“ad fontes!”
USA, 1830—used in association with ‘see’, ‘said the blind man’ puns on this verb’s primary meaning (‘to perceive with the eyes’) and secondary meanings (‘to understand’, ‘to find out’, ‘to examine’)
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writing is more effective than military power or violence—UK, 1832—often erroneously ascribed to E. Bulwer-Lytton in ‘Richelieu; or, The Conspiracy’ (1839)
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a great commotion about a trivial matter—‘a storm in a teacup’: UK, 1775—‘une tempête dans un verre d’eau’: France, 1785
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USA—originally used during the 1960 presidential election campaign by the Democratic Party to denigrate Richard Nixon, the Republican Party’s nominee
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originated in magazine advertisements for the bodybuilding course created and marketed by Italian-born U.S. bodybuilder Charles Atlas (Angelo Siciliano – 1892-1972)
Read Moreany muddle-headed business—UK, 1813—the stupidity of the people of Coggeshall, a small town in Essex, England, has been proverbial since the mid-17th century
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used of someone who won’t admit defeat—USA, early 20th century—but used in the late 19th century in reference to physical weakness
Read Moresaid to console a child choking over his or her food—UK, obsolete—first recorded in A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation (1738), by Jonathan Swift
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used to convey that something is extremely difficult to do—USA, 1835—also ‘like pulling eyeteeth’, ‘like pulling elephants’ teeth (with a dentist’s forceps)’
Read MoreUSA, 1938—male-chauvinistic phrase meaning that the place of women is in the home and that their role is to bear children—also ‘pregnant and barefoot(ed)’
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word histories 