UK, 1874—the noun ‘long trousers’ is used in reference to the wearing of long rather than short trousers as a mark of increasing maturity| word histories
Listen to the author reading this blog post. by Kate Woodford Do you know someone who is ‘good in a crisis’ – someone who stays admirably calm in difficult circumstances when the people around them are too stressed to make good decisions? Perhaps you are good in a crisis. This week, I’m looking at … Continue reading Calm and collected (The language of staying calm in a crisis) The post Calm and collected (The language of staying calm in a crisis) appeared first on About Words - C...| About Words – Cambridge Dictionary blog
in the game of whist: the four of hearts, considered as an unlucky card—southeastern Scotland and northeastern England, early 19th century—origin unknown| word histories
a person who overestimates their own influence—1661—alludes to the fable of a fly sitting on the axletree of a moving chariot and saying, “See what a dust I raise”| word histories
In the deep South of the United States, when sunlight breaks through a gentle rain, you might hear someone say, “The devil’s beating his wife.” It’s a phrase that stops many outsiders in thei…| Atkins Bookshelf
UK, 1951—‘mother-in-law’s chair’, ‘mother-in-law’s cushion’ and ‘mother-in-law’s seat’ are colloquial appellations for the globular spiny cactus Echinocactus grusonii, native to Mexico…| word histories
an uncovered extra seat at the back or on the side of a two-seater motor car—USA, 1907| word histories
USA, 1874—a joke made at the expense of the joke-teller’s (real or fictitious) mother-in-law; this type of joke considered (especially depreciatively) as a genre| word histories
Listen to the author reading this blog post. by Kate Woodford This week’s blog post is a companion to one that I published last month on ways of talking about luck. Today’s post focuses on the language of chance – that force that makes things happen without any obvious cause. Let’s start with the … Continue reading Random and fortuitous (Words for talking about chance) The post Random and fortuitous (Words for talking about chance) appeared first on About Words - Cambridge Dictio...| About Words – Cambridge Dictionary blog
Listen to the author reading this blog post. by Liz Walter Today’s post is the second of a pair covering words and phrases connected with competitions and contests of all types (you can find the first post here). This post focuses on vocabulary associated with winning and losing. Someone who is winning a competition … Continue reading Decisive victory or narrow defeat: talking about competitions (2) The post Decisive victory or narrow defeat: talking about competitions (2) appeared fir...| About Words – Cambridge Dictionary blog
England; also: the British Parliament—UK, 1857—popularised in 1865 by the British politician John Bright| word histories
a charwoman, a cleaning lady—UK, 1940—popularised in 1942 by the charwoman’s name in the BBC radio comedy series ‘It’s That Man Again’| word histories
conventionally middle-class—UK, 1953—from ‘Mrs Dale’, the name of a conventional middle-class woman in Mrs Dale’s Diary, a BBC radio serial broadcast from 1948 to 1969| word histories
I currently have three quotes on the wall in my study at the church building. I suspect that this will change with time, but each phrase is a reminder to me and I hope will shape my ministry over t…| nuakh
crowded or confined tightly together—Britain, 1706—in early use, this phrase often referred to the transatlantic slave trade| word histories
said of a great number of persons or things, especially when pressed against one another—UK, 1776—refers to herrings in a barrel| word histories
a container used to store for posterity a selection of objects thought to be representative of a particular moment in time—USA, 1938—coined to specifically designate the container built by the West…| word histories
UK, 1931—sports (originally golf): a style of play characterised by an emphasis on luck rather than skill—the image is of a golfer who trusts to luck when hitting the ball| word histories
three daily meals plus a bed for the night (i.e., basic food and shelter)—USA, 1929—chiefly used in relation to the military, prison, and shelters for homeless people—‘hot’ designates a hot meal…| word histories
very boring or unexciting—‘(as) dull as ditchwater’ (1770)—the later phrase ‘(as) dull as dishwater’ (1832) is probably due to mispronunciation of ‘ditchwater’ in the original phrase…| word histories
Expand your vocabulary by learning and using these colourful idioms and phrases that come from the sport of boxing.| About Words - Cambridge Dictionary blog
This is really cool. I never thought we’d get an answer to this one. My friend Rich Fisher at the Vickers Machine Gun Collection & Research Society posted a video on the old chestnut that “the whole nine yards” refers to the length of machine gun belts. As he shows for the Vickers and I’ve … Continue reading An Answer for “The Whole Nine Yards”→| The BS Historian
