meaning and origin of the phrase ‘the great unwashed’
UK, 1829—a pejorative appellation of the lower classes by the middle and upper classes, although apparently appropriated by the lower classes
Read MoreTag: United Kingdom
meaning and origin of the term ‘bunny boiler’
1989—a person acting vengefully after having been spurned by their lover—from 1987 film Fatal Attraction, in which a rejected woman boils her lover’s pet rabbit
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘alive and well (and living in ——)’
‘alive and well’ (ca 1590): still existing or active—‘alive and well and living in ——’ (1834): originally referring to persons thought to have been murdered
Read Moremeaning 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 Morethe acronym ‘Wags’ and its derivative ‘Gwags’
‘Wags’ (2002): the wives and girlfriends of the England World Cup football team—‘Gwags’ (2006): golfers’ wives and girlfriends
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘the silly season’
coined in The Saturday Review (London, 13 July 1861) about the shortage of important news in autumn in The Times of London
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘all over the shop’
UK, 1862—‘in every direction’ and ‘in a disorganised or confused state’—apparently originated in sports slang
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 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 Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to grasp the nettle’
from the idea that it takes some pluck to put to the test the belief that a nettle stings less painfully when seized tightly than when touched lightly
Read More