“ad fontes!”
UK, 1935—a humorous self-contradictory phrase which includes the clichéd phrase ‘to avoid like the plague’ in order to express the necessity of avoiding clichés—as a piece of advice for writers, has itself become a cliché
Read MoreUK, 1950, as ‘old boy net’—a system of favouritism and preferment operating among people of a similar social, usually privileged, background, especially among former pupils of public schools
Read Morea group within a political party or other organisation, which presses for stronger or more radical policy or action—UK, 1916—the image is of providing ‘ginger’ (i.e., vigour) in a party or organisation
Read MoreThe phrase ‘sunlit uplands’ denotes an idealised or longed-for future time of happiness, prosperity, good fortune, etc. Popularised by Winston Churchill in 1940, this phrase has been associated with the bright future that Brexit was supposed to usher in.
Read MoreUSA, 1890—to regain one’s energy by resting after a period of exertion—the image is of restoring an electric charge to a battery
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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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USA, 1884—a person whose lack of courage is as real as it appears to be—jocular variant of ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’—often misattributed to Winston Churchill
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the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under Stalin, as characterised by Winston Churchill in a speech broadcast on the radio on 1st October 1939
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the time of one’s greatest success—from the speech made on 18 June 1940 by P.M. Winston Churchill after the fall of France and before the Battle of Britain
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current use seems to allude to a speech by Winston Churchill in May 1940—but the metaphor goes back to the early 17th century
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word histories 