‘to talk through (the back of) one’s neck’

1890s—to use extravagant words or language not substantiated by fact; to talk nonsense—occurs in particular in stories by the British authors Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921) and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975)

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‘fang-farrier’: meaning and origin

a dentist—World War Two—slang of the British armed forces—was soon adopted into (and came to be regarded as) Australian English—earlier synonyms: ‘fang-faker’ and ‘fang-wrencher’

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‘loony doctor’: meaning and origin

from 1924 onwards in stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse—a facetious appellation for a medical practitioner specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness—‘loony’: shortened form of ‘lunatic’

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‘to have two left feet’ and synonymous phrases

‘to have two left feet’: to be clumsy or awkward—postdates synonymous ‘to have two left hands’ (1815), loan translation of French ‘avoir deux mains gauches’—‘left’ has long been associated with inferior performance, awkwardness and insincerity

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‘loony bin’: meaning and origin

1909 to 1923 in stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse—a facetious appellation for a home or hospital for people with mental illnesses—‘loony’: shortened form of ‘lunatic’

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history of ‘that schoolgirl complexion’

American English 1921–British and Irish English 1923—although it was already a cliché, ‘schoolgirl complexion’ was popularised by the advertising slogan for Palmolive Soap

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