meaning and origin of ‘Matthew effect’ and of ‘Matthew principle’
USA, 1960s—those who already have will receive more—refers to gospel of Matthew—coined by sociologist Robert King Merton
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meaning and early instances of the phrase ‘like taking candy from a baby’
USA, 1896—very easy to accomplish, sometimes with an implication of unscrupulousness
Read Moremeaning and early instances of the phrase ‘like shooting fish in a barrel’
very easy to accomplish—USA, 1902, although recorded in 1898 with perhaps a different meaning
Read Moremeanings and origin of ‘flavour of the month/of the week’
UK, 1967—person or thing that enjoys a short period of great popularity—the particular ice-cream flavour promoted during a month/week
Read Moreorigin of ‘the gnomes of Zurich’ (international bankers and financiers)
British origin—popularised by Harold Wilson in 1956, but first recorded in The Observer (London) of 30 October 1955
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to know how many beans make five’
to be sensible and intelligent—1784 in a US publication, but attributed to “a gentleman from abroad”—‘blue’, meaningless fanciful intensive, sometimes before ‘beans’
Read Moremeaning and origin of the phrase ‘to keep an ear to the ground’
USA, 1815—from the practice of putting one’s ear to the ground in order to detect the vibration of sounds in the distance before they can actually be heard
Read Moremeanings and origin of the phrase ‘all dressed up with nowhere to go’
USA, 1910—originated as a line in the musical comedy The Girl of My Dreams—allegedly coined by music-hall artist Nita Allen
Read Moreorigin of ‘to drop a clanger’ (to make an absurd or embarrassing blunder)
British Army slang, 1945—the image is of something dropping with a clang, i.e. with a loud resonant ringing sound.
Read Moreorigin of ‘shower’ (party held to present gifts to a person)
USA, late 19th century—party held by female guests to present gifts of a particular kind to a bride-to-be
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