“ad fontes!”
of a vessel: to advance steadily under a favourable wind, without having to change tack or sail—UK, 1807, in reference to the voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to the remote South-Atlantic island of St. Helena
Read MoreUK, 1882—‘penny’ refers to inexpensiveness, and ‘puzzle’ to the mysterious nature of the ingredients—perhaps also in humorous allusion to ‘penny puzzle’ in the sense of a puzzle-card sold on the street for one penny
Read MoreUK, 1839—jocular variant of ‘penny-a-liner’ (i.e., a journalist who was paid at the rate of a penny a line, a person who produced mediocre journalistic work) with the implication that such journalists fabricated falsehoods
Read MoreUK, early 19th century, derogatory—used attributively of a journalist who was paid at the rate of a penny a line, hence also of low-quality writing
Read MoreUK, mid-19th century—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read Moremid-19th century—a small bonnet standing far back on the head, which was then fashionable—also occasionally in the extended form ‘kiss-me-quick, mother’s coming’
Read MoreAustralia & UK, 1856—a circular curl of hair (sometimes artificial), usually pressed flat against the temple or forehead
Read Moreto live in excessively close proximity or interdependence—1762: “the company squeezed themselves into one another’s pockets” in a letter by Horace Walpole
Read Morea drink made from black coffee and brandy, cognac or other liquor—‘royale’ means: first-rate—‘café royale’ (USA, 1882): probably a Frenchification of earlier ‘coffee royal’
Read MoreUK, 1904—refers to the action of making someone stop chattering—from the colloquial imperative phrase ‘cut the cackle (and come to the horses)’, meaning: stop talking (and get to the heart of the matter)
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word histories 