a 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 MoreTag: television
meaning 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
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British phrase ‘to give it some welly’
to put more effort in it—1976 with reference to putting one’s foot down on the accelerator pedal in a motor vehicle
Read Morethe acronym ‘EGOT’, or a tale of egotism
USA, 1984—the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards viewed as a single achievement—coined by U.S. actor and musician Philip Michael Thomas
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’
sexual intercourse conducted quickly and without tenderness—originally used (USA, 1950) in the generic, neutral sense of ‘quickness’
Read Moreorigin of ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get(s) going’
USA, 1953—originally a motto adopted by football coaches—has often been used humorously with variation of the main clause
Read Moreearly meanings of the portmanteau ‘screenager’
USA—blend of ‘screen’ and ‘teenager’—(1957) teenagers reacting to a movie—(1985) teenagers as represented by TV and cinema
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘blackboard jungle’
USA, 1955—the education system regarded as a place where the law of the jungle applies—from the title of a 1954 novel and of its 1955 film adaptation
Read Moremeaning and origin of the British-English phrase ‘64,000 question’
1956—a crucial question or issue—from The 64,000 Question, the name of a TV quiz show adapted from U.S. TV programme The $64,000 Question
Read More“Nice one, Cyril!”, or the birth of British catchphrases
a view on the manner in which catchphrases created by comedians and advertising gain currency
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