‘bonkbuster’: meaning and origin

a type of popular novel characterised by frequent explicit descriptions of sexual encounters between the characters—from ‘bonk’, referring to sexual intercourse, and ‘blockbuster’—UK, 1988—perhaps coined by Sue Limb

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‘to go home in an ambulance’: meaning and origin

to get a severe beating—popularised in UK & Ireland in the 2nd half of the 20th century through its use in chants by supporters at Association-Football matches, chiefly to threaten opposing away supporters

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‘passion-killer’: meanings and origin

UK—anything which discourages or inhibits sexual activity—originally (1943, British military slang): the sturdy, practical and unattractive underwear issued to female service personnel

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‘to clutch the pearls’: meaning and origin

to react with shock or dismay, especially in response to something considered immoral, underhand or vulgar—USA, 1990—from an episode of the sketch-comedy television series In Living Color, broadcast on 15th April 1990

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‘simples’: meaning and origin

interjection used to suggest that something can be done or understood with no difficulty—UK, 2009—from the catchword uttered by Aleksandr Orlov, an animated Russian meerkat, in a television advertising campaign for comparethemarket.com

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