history of ‘many are cold (but) few are frozen’
USA, 1885—humorous alteration of ‘many are called (but) few are chosen’, which refers to The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (gospel of Matthew, 20:1-16)
Read MoreTag: sports & games
history of ‘— is just one damned thing after another’
USA, 1909—first with grammatical subject ‘life’, meaning ‘life consists of a succession of unpleasant or unlucky events’—then with other grammatical subjects
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘to spend a penny’
UK, 1945—with allusion to the former price of admission to public lavatories: to use a public convenience—by extension: to urinate
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘not to have a scooby’
to have no idea at all—Scotland, 1990—‘scooby’ (short for ‘Scooby Doo’, name of cartoon dog in U.S. television series and films): rhyming slang for ‘clue’
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘to box clever’
UK, 1935—to conduct oneself adroitly (‘clever’: adverb meaning ‘skilfully’)—originated in boxing
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘Aunt Emma’
croquet: unenterprising or defensive player or play—from the name of the fictitious author of a chapter on such tactics in Lillie’s ‘Croquet up to Date’ (1900)
Read More‘it’s baloney, no matter how thin you slice it’
USA, 1926—meaning: it’s utter nonsense, no matter how hard you try to prove the opposite—from ‘bologna’: a large smoked sausage made of seasoned mixed meats
Read Morenotes on the phrase ‘a penny bun costs twopence’
1911—expenses rise as soon as one marries or begins cohabiting, or even carries on a romantic relationship—antonym of ‘two can live as cheaply as one’
Read Moreoccurrences of ‘the full monty’ from 1989 to 1994
used to mean ‘everything which is necessary, appropriate or possible’, sometimes with punning reference to the British comedy group ‘Monty Python’
Read Morehistory of ‘that’s the stuff to give ’em/to give the troops’
First World War military slang—extended forms of ‘that’s the stuff’—used in approval of what has just been done or said, or to mean ‘that is what is needed’
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