“ad fontes!”
1988, Australia & USA—apathy, indifference or mental exhaustion arising from exposure to too much information—especially stress induced by the attempt to assimilate excessive amounts of information from the media, the Internet or at work
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UK, 1993—derogatory—Sky Television Network, regarded as downmarket—alluded to the number of satellite dishes on council houses and council tower-blocks
Read Morethe quality or fact of being from New Zealand; characteristics regarded as typical of New Zealand or New Zealanders—coined in 1967 by the U.S. Professor of Psychology Eugene Leonard Hartley
Read Morea police patrol car—UK, 1959—originally any of the special crime police patrol cars used in Lancashire—from the radio call-sign ‘Z’ allotted to such cars—popularised by the British television series ‘Z Cars’ (1962-78)
Read MoreUK, 1982—a profitable undertaking, especially one that is not strenuous or demanding—popularised by the British television series Minder (1979-1989)
Read MoreBritish slang, 1960s—‘to disappear up one’s own arse’: to become self-involved, pretentious or conceited—‘to be up one’s own arse’: to be self-involved, pretentious or conceited
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Australia, 1950—UK, 1962—derogatory and offensive: a middle-aged or elderly woman, especially one who is unattractive or unfeminine—refers to ‘boiler’, i.e., a tough old chicken for cooking by boiling
Read Morethe discipline of moving rapidly and freely over or around the obstacles presented by an urban environment by running, jumping, climbing, etc.—French—altered spelling of the noun ‘parcours’ in ‘parcours d’obstacles’ (i.e., ‘obstacle course’)
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UK—a trifling, whimsical news item, especially one that is used as a light-note ending to a television or radio news broadcast—from a short film about a pet duck, first broadcast on the BBC on 24 May 1978
Read MoreUK, 2001: the defeat of a high-profile Member of Parliament, indicating a significant political change—originally, UK, 1997: the announcement of Michael Portillo’s defeat, seen as emblematic of the Conservative defeat in the general election
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word histories 