‘Skinny Lizzie’: meaning and origin
UK, 1916—a scrawny girl or woman—may have originated in the title of a successful song (and in the name of an equally popular character) created in 1911 by the comedienne Lily Long
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‘flour bomb’: meaning and origin
UK, 1871—a paper bag, balloon, etc., filled with flour and thrown or dropped such that it bursts and disperses its contents over the target on impact, usually as a prank or as part of a protest or public demonstration
Read More‘ginormous’: meaning and origin
impressively or shockingly big—a blend of ‘gigantic’ and ‘enormous’—apparently coined by Welsh novelist Berta Ruck in Wedding March (1938)
Read More‘a picture is worth a thousand words’: meaning and origin
a picture conveys far more than words—USA, 1877, as ‘a picture tells more than printed words’—from 1866 to 1876 the notion had been used with specific reference to pictures by the cartoonist Thomas Nast
Read More‘to drain the main vein’: meaning and origin
to urinate—slang—2nd half of the 20th century—based on the sound /eɪn/, common to the verb, adjective and noun that compose it—‘main vein’ probably refers to the penis
Read More‘quel idiot!’: meaning and origin
UK, 1917—‘what an idiot!’—a borrowing from French
Read More‘quelle surprise!’: meaning and origin
UK, 1884—‘what a surprise!’—a borrowing from French—chiefly used ironically, to imply that a situation or event is unsurprising, typical or predictable
Read More‘for two pins’: meaning and origin
UK, 1794—expresses one’s strong and often petulant inclination to do a particular thing—here, ‘pin’ (i.e., a small, thin, pointed piece of metal) is used of the most trivial or least significant thing
Read More‘cheats never prosper’: meaning and origin
dishonest or deceitful actions, while they may offer a short-term advantage, do not lead to long-term success or well-being—1710, as ‘cheating never thrives’
Read More‘sugar skull’: meaning and origin
1843—a representation of a human skull or skeleton, originally crafted from sugar and intended to be eaten and often given to children as a gift around Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)
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