‘over a barrel’: meaning, early instances and probable origin
USA, 1890—at someone’s mercy—probably alludes to the practice of binding a person over an overturned barrel in order to beat them
Read MoreTag: sports & games
meaning and origin of the British phrase ‘a racing dog’s bollocks’
UK, 1988—used in similes to denote something that protrudes—originated in British military slang
Read Moremeaning 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 Moremeaning and origin of the British phrase ‘to go down the pan’
UK, 1950—to be completely lost or wasted; to fail utterly—alludes to ‘pan’ in the sense of the bowl of a toilet
Read Morea hypothesis as to the origin of ‘to get down to brass tacks’
USA, 1868—‘brass tacks’: the nails studded over a coffin, hence figuratively the end of any possibility of deceit, the return to essentials
Read Moremeaning and history of ‘to laugh/cry all the way to the bank’
USA, 1908—to relish – or ironically deplore – the fact that one is making money, especially undeservedly or at the expense of others
Read Morea Briticism: ‘Gavin and Stacey’ used as an attributive modifier
2019—used to mean ‘Anglo-Welsh’—from ‘Gavin & Stacey’, a sitcom about the relationship between an Englishman and a Welsh woman
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘six feet under’
USA, 1924—dead and buried—short for ‘buried six feet under ground’—alludes to the normal depth of a grave
Read Moremeaning and evolution of ‘had one but the wheel(s) came off’
UK, 1924—used to indicate that the speaker has been inattentive or has not understood what has just been said
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