‘the cream of the crop’: meaning and origin
the best produce from a harvest—hence: the best of a group of people or things—UK, 1828—from ‘cream’ (i.e., the most excellent element or part)
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‘one’s heart rules one’s head’: meaning and early occurrences
USA, 1836—one is governed by one’s feelings rather than by rational or practical considerations
Read More‘oo-la-la land’: meaning and origin
a humorous appellation for France—USA, 1921—‘oo-la-la’ (from the French interjection ‘oh là là’) is stereotypically associated with France
Read More‘to throw out a tub to the whale’: meaning and origin
to create a diversion, in order to avoid a dangerous or unpleasant situation—UK, 1730—alludes to the Preface to A Tale of a Tub (1704), by Jonathan Swift
Read More‘to put lipstick on a pig’: meaning and origin
USA, 1959—to (seek to) make minor or superficial improvements to something considered fundamentally unappealing or inadequate
Read More‘to spit feathers’ (to be angry): early occurrences
Australia, 1940 (?)—UK, 1963—origin unknown—either somehow derived from the sense ‘to be parched’ of the phrase ‘to spit feathers’ or a distinct phrase which happens to be identical in form
Read More‘to spit feathers’ (to be parched): origin and early occurrences
USA, 1850—based on the image of a thirsty person whose mouth is so parched that it feels as if it were filled with feathers and that the person thus feels choked
Read More‘ice-cream headache’: meaning and origin
USA, 1892—severe but usually short-lived headache induced by the consumption of very cold food or drink
Read More‘to smoke like a chimney’: meaning and origin
to smoke tobacco very heavily —UK, 1824, as “smoking away like the chimney of the King of the Netherlands”
Read More‘ice-cream van’: meaning and origin
USA, 1874 & Britain, 1875: a commercial vehicle from which ice cream is sold, typically at the roadside—originally in Britain: typically at a fair
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