‘bikini body’: meanings and origin
USA, 1961—the type of body, typically slim and shapely, conventionally considered to look attractive in a bikini—hence also, by synecdoche: a woman whose body is of that type
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‘lust at first sight’: meaning and origin
USA, 1914—an instant, strong sexual desire for someone whom one has never previously seen—humorous variant of ‘love at first sight’
Read More‘love in a cottage’: meaning and origin
a marriage for love, or a romantic relationship, faced with insufficient financial means—UK, 1745
Read More‘dead from the neck up’: meaning and origin
also ‘dead from the chin up’—completely stupid—USA, 1870—alludes to being brain-dead
Read More‘purrfect’: meaning and origin
USA, 1876—perfect, especially in cat-related contexts—colloquial, humorous blend of ‘purr’ and ‘perfect’
Read More‘zip-lipped’: meanings and origin
having the lips tightly closed—hence, figuratively: uncommunicative, determinedly reticent—USA, 1942—refers to the noun ‘zip’, designating a fastening device
Read More‘horse doovers’: meaning and origin
UK, 1851, as ‘haw-doovers’—humorous and colloquial alteration of ‘hors d’oeuvres’, plural of the noun ‘hors d’oeuvre’ (i.e.: an extra dish served as a relish to whet the appetite usually before the main meal)
Read More‘like a cock at a gooseberry’: meaning and origin
very quickly and without hesitation; eagerly—Scotland and northern England, 1778
Read More‘bathroom humour’: meaning and origin
crude humour centring chiefly on bodily functions—USA, 1931
Read More‘not the only onion in the hash’: meaning and origin
not the only person or thing to be taken into consideration—USA, 1918, in a story by Harry Charles Witwer—later popularised by P. G. Wodehouse
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