‘bed and breakfast’ (verb): meanings and early occurrences
UK, 1883—to stay at a hotel, inn, etc., that provides a bed for the night and breakfast the following morning—to stay at an establishment known as a ‘bed and breakfast’
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‘tennis elbow’: meaning and origin
UK, 1881—a form of repetitive strain injury (first identified in tennis players) that affects the tendons of forearm muscles attached to the lateral epicondyle of the humerus—synonym ‘lateral epicondylitis’
Read More‘magic pudding’: meaning, origin and early occurrences
Australia, 1934—an inexhaustible supply of something, especially money—alludes to The Magic Pudding (1918), by Norman Lindsay, in which a pudding instantly renews itself as it is sliced or eaten into
Read More‘pig’s breakfast’: meaning and origin
New Zealand, 1917—a mess, a muddle; something unattractive or unappetising—alludes to the jumbled nature of a pig’s meal
Read More‘a horse’s head in one’s bed’: meaning and origin
USA, 1972—a chilling warning given to somebody—from Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), in which the severed head of a horse is left as a warning in a film producer’s bed
Read More‘easy street’: meanings and origin
USA, 1885—a condition of carefreeness, of ease, usually one marked by financial security—also (USA, 1889) in sporting contexts, a situation where winning will be easy
Read More‘pas ce soir, Josephine’ : meaning and early occurrences
UK, 1935—jocular—is used by a man to defer his sexual duties to a wife or lover; is also applied to any postponement—translation of the earlier phrase ‘not tonight, Josephine’
Read More‘not tonight, Josephine’: meanings and early occurrences
USA, 1904—a jocular phrase apparently originally applied to any postponement—of unknown origin
Read More‘where the sun don’t shine’: meaning and origin
U.S. slang, 20th century—in reference to a person’s anus, ‘to stick (something) where the sun don’t shine’ expresses contemptuous rejection
Read More‘rabbit punch’: meaning and origin
UK, 1911—a sharp blow to the back of the neck—refers to the practice of killing rabbits in this way, and originated in boxing—Australia, 1913: ‘rabbit killer’, also ‘rabbit-killer punch’
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