“ad fontes!”
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’
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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 MoreNew Zealand, 1917—a mess, a muddle; something unattractive or unappetising—alludes to the jumbled nature of a pig’s meal
Read MoreUSA, 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 MoreUSA, 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 MoreUK, 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’
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USA, 1904—a jocular phrase apparently originally applied to any postponement—of unknown origin
Read MoreU.S. slang, 20th century—in reference to a person’s anus, ‘to stick (something) where the sun don’t shine’ expresses contemptuous rejection
Read MoreUK, 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’
Read MoreUK, 1833: a small castle-like structure made of wet sand, as by children on a beach—UK, 1837: a plan or idea with little substance
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