‘lead-pipe cinch’: meaning and early occurrences
a complete certainty—USA, 1887 in the context of horse-racing—of unknown origin
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‘Marie Antoinette’: meaning and origin
refers to a person who is ignorant or dismissive of the hardships of others—alludes to the phrase “let them eat cake”, attributed to Marie Antoinette, wife of King of France Louis XVI
Read More‘Chinese fire drill’: meanings and origin
USA—1941 (slang of the Marines): a state of disorder or confusion—1959 (High-School slang): a prank in which the occupants of a vehicle which has temporarily come to a stop must jump out, run around the vehicle and get back in
Read More‘egg-dance’: meanings and origin
(UK, 1775): a dance blindfold among eggs—hence, figuratively (UK, 1856): an intricate and difficult task—also used as a verb
Read More‘buddy system’: original meaning and early occurrences
USA, 1920—a system devised by the Red Cross Life Saving Corps for Boy Scout camps, whereby the boys were paired off, each boy in a pair staying with the other throughout a swimming period and taking responsibility for the other’s safety
Read More‘al desko’: meaning and origin
USA, 1981—adverb meaning: at one’s desk—especially used with reference to eating lunch or other meals there—humorous alteration of ‘al fresco’
Read More‘to put one’s money where one’s mouth is’: meaning and origin
USA, 1913—to produce, bet or pay out money to support one’s statements or opinions; to do something that demonstrates one’s assertion
Read More‘bag stuffer’: meaning and origin
USA, 1950, as ‘shopping-bag stuffer’—an advertising leaflet or similar piece of promotional material handed out to shoppers or placed in shopping bags alongside goods purchased
Read More‘guzinter’: meanings and origin
1910—a humorous phonetic transcription of the phrase “goes into”, as originally used at school in arithmetic lessons (as in “4 guzinter 8 two times”)—hence, by extension: a schoolteacher
Read More‘black-bag job’: meaning and origin
USA, 1950—a covert intelligence operation involving illegal entry into premises—alludes to the black bag in which the equipment required for this type of operations was typically carried
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