the authentic—and simple—origin of ‘sleep tight’

21st May 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

In the phrase ‘sleep tight’ (USA, 1873), the adjective ‘tight’ is used as an adverb meaning ‘soundly’, i.e. ‘deeply and without disturbance’, as in the combination ‘tight asleep’ (USA, 1847).

The phrase ‘the sky’s the limit’ originated in poker.

20th May 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

meaning: ‘there is nothing to prevent someone or something from being successful’—from a late-19th-century metaphor specifically used of poker games with ‘a sky-high limit’ on stakes

‘like a million dollars’ vs. ‘like thirty cents’

15th May 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

USA—‘to look, or to feel, (like) a million dollars’, or ‘(like) a million bucks’: to look, or to feel, extremely good, or extremely attractive (early 20th century)—sometimes used in contrast to ‘like thirty, or 30, cents’: cheap, worthless (late 19th century)

How poverty and war produced ‘latchkey child’.

12th May 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

originally: a child wearing the house key tied around their neck and staying in the streets while their mother is at work—USA, 1935: a poor Afro-American woman’s child—USA & UK, WWII: a child whose mother was engaged in war industry

‘have them rolling in the aisles’ (of a theatre or of a church)

11th May 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

USA, 1901—Especially in ‘to have them rolling in the aisles’, the colloquial phrase ‘in the aisles’ is used in various expressions to suggest a wildly enthusiastic reaction, especially uncontrollable laughter, on the part of an audience.

meanings and origin of ‘dead-cat bounce’

7th May 2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

from the notion that even a dead cat will bounce if dropped from a sufficient height—UK, 1981: a rapid fall in the stock market with hardly any reaction—USA, 1985: a rapid but short-lived recovery in the stock market after a sharp fall—hence, 1992: any spurious success

an American phrase for a British trait: ‘a stiff upper lip’

6th May 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

‘a stiff upper lip’: a quality of uncomplaining stoicism—now understood as referring to what is believed to be a quintessentially British trait, the repression of emotion, but originated in fact in North America (USA, 1811)

‘gung ho’ and American admiration for communist China

5th May 2018.Reading time 11 minutes.

from Chinese ‘gōnghé’, short for ‘Zhōngguó Gōngyè Hézuò Shè’ (Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society)—interpreted as a slogan meaning ‘work together’ (USA, 1941)—adopted by Evans F. Carlson, commander of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion (1942)

‘funny-ha-ha’ and ‘funny-peculiar’ used in collocation

2nd May 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

USA, 1916—used in collocation to seek or provide clarification between the two main meanings of ‘funny’: ‘funny-ha-ha’ means ‘funny’ in the sense ‘amusing’ or ‘comical’ – ‘funny-peculiar’ means ‘funny’ in the sense ‘strange’ or ‘peculiar’.

the appearance of the phrase ‘footloose and fancy-free’

1st May 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The phrase ‘footloose and fancy-free’ means ‘not committed or tied to anyone or anything’—it appeared in the 1860s only, in U.S. political contexts, although each of its elements dates from the 17th century.