notes on the second-earliest mentions of a drink called ‘cocktail’
USA, 1803—associated with a lounger—precise meaning of ‘cocktail’ is not defined, but the word denotes an alcoholic drink apparently taken as hair of the dog
Read MoreTag: USA
meaning and history of ‘spring forward, fall back’
USA, 1936—serves as a mnemonic for remembering to set the clocks when daylight-saving time comes into effect and when it ends
Read Moremeaning and origin of the term ‘(Dr.) Kevorkian’
USA, 1990s—purveyor of doom, especially agent of death, force of suicide—refers to Jack Kevorkian (1928-2011), U.S. physician and advocate of assisted suicide
Read Moremeanings and history of ‘the usual suspects’
USA, 1932—originally used of the impunity enjoyed by gangsters when one of them was murdered—therefore, did not originate in the 1942 film Casablanca
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘ugly American’
USA, 1958—an American who behaves offensively abroad—refers to The Ugly American, a 1958 novel denouncing the U.S. Foreign Service in Southeast Asia
Read Morethe phrase ‘(not) to go gentle into that good night’
USA, 1952—meaning: (not) to give up or acquiesce, especially to death, without a struggle—origin: used as the title of, and in, a poem by Dylan Thomas
Read More‘high five’: origin and cultural background
USA, 1980—gesture of celebration or greeting in which two people slap each other’s palms with their arms raised—originated in basketball
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘Judas sheep’ and ‘Judas goat’
USA, early 20th century—a sheep or a goat used to lead sheep to slaughter—hence any person or thing used as a decoy to lure people into being caught, arrested, etc.
Read Moremeaning and origin of ‘Fibber McGee’s (hall) closet’
USA, 1942—used with reference to clutter, jumble, mess—alludes to the overstuffed closet in U.S. radio comedy series ‘Fibber McGee and Molly’ (1935 to 1956)
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘How many divisions has the Pope?’
used to pose the dilemma between material power and moral strength, and seemingly to dismiss the latter—from a question allegedly posed by Joseph Stalin (USA 1943)
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