“ad fontes!”
USA, 1927—a game in which each participant, in turn, has to either answer truthfully a question put to him or her by one of the other players, or fulfil an alternative requirement put to him or her by one of the other players
Read MoreUSA, 1920—a system devised by the Red Cross Life Saving Corps for Boy Scout camps, whereby the boys were paired off, each boy in a pair staying with the other throughout a swimming period and taking responsibility for the other’s safety
Read MoreUK, 1944—the slogan of the Boy Scout Association’s effort to raise money for funds by doing jobs, originally at a shilling a time
Read More1910—used of a weakling, or of someone or something that is ineffectual—may have originated in Yorkshire, a county of northern England
Read MoreUK, 1909: expresses the speaker’s good faith—literally, in Scouting for Boys (1908), by Robert Baden-Powell: the honour on which a Scout promises to obey the Scout Law
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1928—dessert consisting of toasted marshmallows and chocolate between graham crackers—represents a rapid pronunciation of synonymous ‘some more’ (1925)
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Of American-English origin, Simon says denotes a children’s game in which players must obey the leader’s instructions only if they are prefaced with the words Simon says; it also denotes the command itself. The name Simon was probably chosen for alliterative effect (Simon says). —Synonymous phrase: O’Grady says. The earliest instance of the phrase Simon […]
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