‘to put a bomb under (a person or thing)’: meaning and origin
to disrupt; to shake up; to rouse to action—USA, 1902
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‘penny puzzle’ (sausage): origin and early occurrences
UK, 1882—‘penny’ refers to inexpensiveness, and ‘puzzle’ to the mysterious nature of the ingredients—perhaps also in humorous allusion to ‘penny puzzle’ in the sense of a puzzle-card sold on the street for one penny
Read More‘to get one’s panties in a bunch’: meaning and origin
also ‘in a wad’, ‘in a knot’, etc.—to become unduly agitated or angry—the plural noun ‘panties’ refers to short underpants worn by women or girls—American English, 1975
Read More‘to put on a bit of pudding’: meaning and origin
Australia, 1957—to gain weight around one’s middle
Read More‘clerk of the weather’: meaning and origin
UK, 1812—an imaginary functionary humorously supposed to control the state of the weather—also ‘clerk of the weather office’
Read More‘goofy foot’: meaning and origin
one who rides a surfboard with the right foot forward instead of the left—USA, 1960 (as a verb)—here, ‘goofy’ seems to be related to prejudice against left-handedness and left-footedness
Read More‘crosswordese’: meaning and origin
the style of language considered characteristic of crossword clues or solutions—USA, 1925—from the noun ‘crossword’ and the suffix ‘-ese’, forming nouns designating the style of language considered characteristic of the first element
Read More‘O’Grady says’: meaning and origin
a game in which players must obey a leader’s instructions if, but only if, they are prefaced with the words ‘O’Grady says’—UK, 1917—game invented during World War One as a play-way for conducting physical exercises and drill in the British Army
Read More‘to have the game by the throat’: meaning and origin
to be in control of a situation; to be in a dominant position—USA, 1899—originally (USA, 1867) used in reference to hunting game animals
Read MoreAustralian uses of ‘two-bob watch’
1910: a cheap and common watch—hence (from 1922 onwards) used in various phrases referring to silliness, reliability/unreliability, erraticism, cheapness, funniness
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