‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’: meaning, origin and variants
‘something new can only be judged to be good or bad after it has been tried or used’ (‘proof’ = ‘test’)—1623, in Remaines, concerning Britaine, by W. Camden
Read MoreTag: USA
meaning and origin of the phrase ‘to see a man about a dog’
UK, 1865—vague excuse for leaving to keep an undisclosed appointment, or, now frequently, to go to the toilet—perhaps originally with allusion to dogfighting
Read Morethe origin of ‘Kilroy’?
Sgt Francis J. Kilroy’s surname, first written in 1943 by his friend Sgt James Maloney (source: Army Public Relations, in the Tucson Daily Citizen, 8 Nov. 1945)
Read Moreearly instances of ‘Kilroy’
first recorded at Kearns air force base and Salt Lake City, both in Utah, in June and July 1945; originally seen merely as an amusing legend
Read Moreorigin of ‘blanket’ and of phrases containing ‘blanket’
‘blanket’: from Old-Northern-French and Anglo-Norman forms such as ‘blankete’ (white woollen material), composed of ‘blanc’ (white) and the diminutive suffix ‘-ette’
Read More‘a sandwich short of a picnic’ and other phrases meaning ‘stupid’ or ‘crazy’
With words denoting some specified deficiency in a desirable or standard quantity of something, ‘short of a ——’ means ‘mentally deficient’, ‘slightly crazy’.
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘one’s best bib and tucker’
18th century, of women’s clothes—‘bib’: a piece of cloth worn between throat and waist; ‘tucker’: a piece of lace or linen worn in or around the top of a bodice
Read Moreorigin of ‘don’t spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar’
from ‘to lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar’—refers to the use of tar to protect sores and wounds on sheep from flies (‘sheep’ was pronounced ‘ship’)
Read More‘to know one’s onions’ – ‘c’est mes oignons’
US, 1898: ‘to know one’s onion’ (in the singular), to be very knowledgeable about something — French, 1897: ‘c’est mes oignons’, it’s my own business
Read Morethe ancient origin of ‘to pour oil on troubled waters’
alludes to the calming effect of oil on the agitated surface of water; common knowledge since ancient times, first scientifically observed by Benjamin Franklin
Read More
word histories 