origin of ‘up the river’ (to prison)
US, 19th cent.—‘to send up the river’ (to send to prison)—originally referred to Sing Sing prison, situated up the Hudson River from the city of New York
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‘To sell down the river’ originated in the history of American slavery.
This phrase originated in the history of American slavery: the river was the Mississippi and down implied the transfer of slaves from north to south.
Read Moresexual origin of ‘merrythought’ (‘wishbone’)
‘merrythought’, late 16th century— the forked bone between the neck and breast of a bird—so called from its resemblance to a woman’s external genitals
Read Morethe origin of ‘to pull the wool over someone’s eyes’?
‘to pull the wool over someone’s eyes’, US, 1830s—perhaps from sheep farming: the hair that grows around a sheep’s eyes can get into them and blind the animal.
Read Morethe long history of the word ‘blues’
‘blues’—from ‘blue’ (‘sorrowful’) and elliptically from ‘blue devils’ (‘depression’)—originally a metaphorical use of ‘blue’ (‘bruised’), as in ‘black and blue’
Read MoreAbraham Lincoln and ‘to swap horses while crossing a stream’
used by Abraham Lincoln to indicate that he was renominated for President because the Republicans did not want to take a risk during the American Civil War
Read Morethe rise of the ‘pin-up girl’
‘pin-up’—US, 1941, in ‘pin-up girl’, denoting a woman being the subject of a picture that a serviceman displays on a locker-door, on a wall, etc.
Read Morethe authentic origin of ‘to turn a blind eye’
early 19th century—shortening of ‘to turn the deaf ear and the blind eye’ and variants
Read Moremeanings of ‘Tom Tiddler’s ground’
a game in which the player who has the role of Tom Tiddler defends his territory against the others, who try to steal his money—hence a source of easy money
Read Moremeaning and early instances of the phrase ‘tooth fairy’
‘tooth fairy’—USA, 1908: a fairy believed by children to take away milk teeth and leave a small sum of money or a small gift under the child’s pillow
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