‘couldn’t knock the skin off a rice pudding’: meaning and origin
1910—used of a weakling, or of someone or something that is ineffectual—may have originated in Yorkshire, a county of northern England
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history of the phrase ‘Scout’s honour’
UK, 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
Read Morea U.S. Girl Scout word: ‘s’more’
1928—dessert consisting of toasted marshmallows and chocolate between graham crackers—represents a rapid pronunciation of synonymous ‘some more’ (1925)
Read Moreorigin of the phrase ‘Simon says’
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). The earliest instance that I have found is the following paragraph […]
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