‘heifer-dust’: meaning, origin and early occurrences
nonsense, rubbish—USA, first decade of the 20th century—probably a euphemism for the noun ‘bullshit’, with the noun ‘dust’ used in the sense of ‘rubbish’, ‘garbage’
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Australian uses of ‘heifer-paddock’
literally (1845): an enclosure in which calves are isolated from their mothers until weaned—figuratively, humorously and offensively (1885): a girls’ boarding-school—similar to the use of ‘cow’ to derogatorily designate a girl or woman
Read More‘hell’s delight’: meaning and early occurrences
early 19th century—pandemonium, great trouble or difficulty—often in ‘to kick up hell’s delight’, meaning: to cause a great deal of trouble or difficulty
Read MoreAustralian use of ‘big spit’
1943: the noun ‘big spit’ designates ‘vomiting’—1952: the phrase ‘to go for the big spit’ means ‘to vomit’
Read More‘lead-pipe cinch’: meaning and early occurrences
a complete certainty—USA, 1887 in the context of horse-racing—of unknown origin
Read More‘Dutch feast’: meaning and origin
a social occasion where the host gets drunk at an earlier time than the guests—1682?—one of several expressions in which the adjective ‘Dutch’ is used derogatorily or derisively
Read More‘short-arse’: meaning and early occurrences
slang, disparaging: a person of small stature—from 1677 onwards in bilingual dictionaries (English-French and French-English) by Guy Miege
Read More‘grumpy-drawers’: meaning and origin
a bad-tempered, sullen person—UK, 1981—here, the noun ‘drawers’ means ‘underpants’
Read More‘three hots and a cot’: meaning and origin
three daily meals plus a bed for the night (i.e., basic food and shelter)—USA, 1929—chiefly used in relation to the military, prison, and shelters for homeless people—‘hot’ designates a hot meal
Read More‘papyrocracy’: meanings and origin
originally (1830): the rule, or the power, of paper money (as opposed to metallic currency)—later also (1940): the rule, or the power, of bureaucracy
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word histories 