‘drama queen’: meaning and origin
(derogatory) a person who is prone to exaggeratedly dramatic behaviour—UK, 1978
Read MoreTag: USA
‘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‘the oldest trick in the book’: meaning and origin
a ruse or stratagem that is still effective although it has been used for a long time—USA, 1929—seems to have originated in sports
Read More‘tinfoil hat’ (used in relation to protection)
alludes to the belief that such a hat or cap protects the wearer from mind control, surveillance or similar types of threat—USA, 1972 as ‘tinfoil-lined hat’
Read More‘blouson noir’: meaning and origin
in French contexts: a young person, especially a young man, belonging to a youth subculture of the 1950s and 1960s—UK, 1959—from the noun ‘blouson’ (a short jacket) and the adjective ‘noir’ (black)
Read More‘few and far between’: meanings and origin
scarce; infrequent; difficult to find or to come by—one early use in 1668—but popularised by the Irish author Thomas Campbell in The Pleasures of Hope (1799)
Read More‘to rain pitchforks (with their points downwards)’: meaning and origin
to rain very heavily—UK, 1820—sometimes appended to the phrase ‘to rain cats and dogs’
Read More‘to be thankful for small mercies’: meaning and origin
to be glad of minor benefits, especially in an otherwise unpleasant or troublesome situation—first recorded in The Heart of Midlothian (1818), by Walter Scott
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