‘golf widow’: meaning and origin
a woman whose husband spends much of his spare time playing golf—UK, 1890—refers to the fact that the husband’s repeated absences from the marital home leave his wife feeling neglected
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‘Frankenstein food’: meanings and origin
genetically modified food—but had been used earlier by members of Weight Watchers in the sense of food one is addicted to—in reference to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read More‘Frankenstein’s monster’: meaning and origin
also ‘Frankenstein’—a creation over which the creator loses control, eventually being destroyed by it—UK, 1822—alludes to ‘Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus’ (1818), by Mary Shelley
Read More‘keytar’: meaning and origin
a synthesizer designed to be held in the manner of a guitar, with one hand playing a keyboard while the other operates controls on an extended handle—USA, 1979—from ‘key-’ in ‘keyboard’ and ‘-tar’ in ‘guitar’
Read More‘to put the frighteners on somebody’: meaning and origin
to intimidate somebody—UK, from 1958 onwards in books by Frank Norman (1930-1980)—also, the noun ‘frightener’ designates a member of a criminal gang who intimidates the victims of its activities
Read More‘to (play) hide the sausage’: meaning and origin
to have sexual intercourse—UK, Ireland and Australia, second half of the 20th century—here, the noun ‘sausage’ denotes the penis
Read More‘to extract the urine’: meaning and origin
humorous—a polite variant of the slang phrase to ‘take the piss out of’, meaning ‘to tease or ridicule’—Ireland, 1987
Read More‘to give someone furiously to think’: meaning and origin
to set someone thinking very hard or seriously, to give someone much food for thought—UK, 1889—loan translation from French ‘donner furieusement à penser’
Read More‘ginger group’: meaning and origin
a group within a political party or other organisation, which presses for stronger or more radical policy or action—UK, 1916—the image is of providing ‘ginger’ (i.e., vigour) in a party or organisation
Read More‘glutton for punishment’: meaning and origin
a person who seems eager to take on difficult or unpleasant tasks—UK, 1829—originally, in pugilistic slang, a fighter who “takes a deal of punishment before he is satisfied”
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