“Ad fontes!”
Australian soldiers’ slang, 1917—literally: to fall heavily; figuratively: to suffer a failure or defeat—‘gutser’ (Scotland, 1901): originally denoted a belly flop—derived from ‘gut’ in the sense of the belly
Read More1922, slang of high-school and university students in Kansas City (Missouri) and in Kansas: a fashionable young man who enjoys socialising with women at tea parties or other social events—1924: a diplomat employed by the U.S. State Department, regarded as being excessively occupied with entertaining dignitaries and doing little meaningful work
Read More(1836) stormy ocean tracts between latitudes 40° and 50° south—(1867) the fifth decade of life—(1888) the 1840s—(1913) the stretch of Broadway through Times Square, in New York City—(nautical slang) naval commanders aged between 40 and 50 who ‘roar’ commands
Read MoreUSA, 1922—flappers’ slang: the sum of money that a flapper carried as a precaution so as not to be left financially helpless in case she and her boyfriend got ‘mad’ at each other while on a date
Read More‘to sleep in Mother Greenfield’s’ (tramp slang): to sleep out in the open fields—‘to worship under Dr. Greenfield’: to go for a walk in the countryside rather than to attend a religious service
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British-Army slang, 1972: a suit of protective clothing for use in nuclear, biological or chemical attacks—by extension: a suit of protective clothing for use by agricultural employees working with chemical sprays—perhaps refers to ‘Noddy’, a character in the writings of Enid Blyton
Read Moreto calm down and relax—a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘relax’—however, explained in 1992 as a blend of ‘chill’ (to calm down and relax) and ‘max’ (to lounge, i.e., to lie, sit or stand in a relaxed or lazy way)
Read MoreUK, 1921—‘frogspawn’: a jocular appellation for ‘tapioca pudding’ (also for ‘sago pudding’)—originated in schoolchildren’s slang—refers to the fact that both tapioca pudding and sago pudding very much resemble frogspawn, i.e., a soft substance like jelly which contains the eggs of a frog
Read MoreAustralia, 1825—liquor sold without a licence—here, the adjective ‘sly’ means ‘secret’, ‘covert’, ‘clandestine’
Read MoreAustralia, 1986—a man’s protruding belly—‘verandah’ denotes an open-sided roofed structure over a shop—in this phrase, ‘toy shop’ denotes the male genitals
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word histories 