meaning and origin of the phrase ‘to go commando’
USA, 1974—to wear no underpants—originated in university slang—perhaps because commandos wear no underpants in order to prevent crotch rot and rashes
Read MoreTag: slang
meaning and possible origin of ‘to push the boat out’
UK, 1915—to be lavish in one’s celebrations or spending—Army and Navy slang: to buy a round of drinks—’a boat’ might be metaphorical for ‘a glass’ (i.e., ‘a drink’)
Read Moremeaning, origin and early instances of ‘to lie doggo’
UK, 1882—to remain motionless and quiet; to keep a low profile—probably from ‘dog’ and suffix ‘-o’, with allusion to the characteristically light sleep of a dog
Read Morethe figurative use of ‘bowler (hat)’: civilian life
UK, 1925—symbol of civilian life as opposed to service in the armed forces and of demobilisation or dismissal from the army
Read Morethe cultural background to the term ‘blind date’
USA, 1922—seems to have originated in the slang of the flappers (the young women who showed freedom from conventions) and of their male counterparts
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘all over the shop’
UK, 1862—‘in every direction’ and ‘in a disorganised or confused state’—apparently originated in sports slang
Read Morehistory of the terms ‘whammy’ and ‘double whammy’
USA—‘whammy’ (baseball, 1927): evil influence or hex—‘double whammy’ (boxing, 1938): evil spell more potent than a whammy
Read Moreorigin and sense development of Anglo-Irish ‘bejesus’
1825, Anglo-Irish alteration of ‘by Jesus’—1867 as one word—‘the bejesus out of’ (1931) intensifies the action conveyed by the preceding verb
Read Morethe meanings and supposed origin of ‘I should cocoa’
UK slang, 1936—emphatic agreement, though often ironical—‘cocoa’ is said to be rhyming slang for ‘so’ in ‘I should say so’
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘like the clappers’
very fast, or very hard—UK, 1942, RAF slang—alludes to the moving metal piece within a bell, which strikes it and produces the sound
Read More