‘Gallic shrug’: meaning and origin
a gesture (made by a French person to deny responsibility, knowledge or agreement) consisting typically in shrugging one’s shoulders while upturning one’s hands
Read MoreTag: USA
‘Potemkin village’: meaning and origin
an impressive facade or show designed to hide an embarrassing or shabby fact or condition—1843—from the sham villages said to have been built by Grigori Potemkin to deceive Catherine II
Read More‘hope chest’: meaning and origin
a chest or box in which a young woman collects articles towards a home of her own in the event of her marriage—USA, 1904
Read More‘to tickle the dragon(’s tail)’: meaning and origin
to undertake a dangerous or hazardous operation or activity—UK, 1867, as ‘to tickle the dragon’s nose’—‘to tickle the dragon’s tail’ was used of a nuclear experiment at Los Alamos during WWII
Read More‘spoils system’: meaning and origin
the practice of filling appointive public offices with friends and supporters of the ruling political party—USA, 1834—from “to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy”, used in 1832 by Senator William Marcy
Read More‘dead-cat strategy’: meaning and origin
the strategy consisting in deliberately making a shocking announcement in order to divert attention from a difficulty in which one is embroiled—from the image of throwing a dead cat on the table—first defined in 2013 by Boris Johnson
Read More‘drama queen’: meaning and origin
(derogatory) a person who is prone to exaggeratedly dramatic behaviour—UK, 1978
Read More‘that makes two of us’: meaning and origin
used conversationally to declare, often ironically, that one shares the opinion, sentiment, predicament, etc., of the previous speaker—USA, early 20th century
Read More‘truth is stranger than fiction’: meaning and origin
real events and situations are often more remarkable or incredible than those made up in fiction—first occurred as ‘truth is always strange, stranger than fiction’ in Don Juan (1823), by George Gordon Byron
Read Moreto be caught with one’s pants down’: meaning and origin
to be caught off-guard; to be surprised in an embarrassing or compromising situation—USA, 1886
Read More
word histories 