the cultural background to the term ‘blind date’
USA, 1922—seems to have originated in the slang of the flappers (the young women who showed freedom from conventions) and of their male counterparts
Read MoreTag: USA
the gruesome origin of the term ‘basket case’
USA, 1918—originally a soldier who had lost all four limbs during the First World War and had to be transported in a basket
Read Moremeaning and history of ‘to laugh/cry all the way to the bank’
USA, 1908—to relish – or ironically deplore – the fact that one is making money, especially undeservedly or at the expense of others
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘the tail wags the dog’
USA, 1870—an unimportant or subsidiary factor, person or thing dominates the situation—based on the image of the inversion of the natural order
Read Moremeaning and origin of the term ‘bunny boiler’
1989—a person acting vengefully after having been spurned by their lover—from 1987 film Fatal Attraction, in which a rejected woman boils her lover’s pet rabbit
Read Morehistory of the phrase ‘alive and well (and living in ——)’
‘alive and well’ (ca 1590): still existing or active—‘alive and well and living in ——’ (1834): originally referring to persons thought to have been murdered
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘all-singing, all-dancing’
UK, 1959—having every desirable feature possible—from ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ as used in the billing given to film or stage musical productions
Read More‘to stick out like a sore thumb’ – ‘to be on hand like a sore thumb’
‘to stick out like a sore thumb’ USA, 1868, to be glaringly obvious— ‘to be on hand like a sore thumb’ USA, 1849, to be fully available
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘six feet under’
USA, 1924—dead and buried—short for ‘buried six feet under ground’—alludes to the normal depth of a grave
Read Morerefutation of received ideas on the origin of ‘bikini’
not originally coined because of the connotation of explosiveness, but because of the connotations of pleasure, beauty and tininess
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word histories 