Tagged Questions
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Origin of “Put up your dukes”
This link claims that one cannot be sure of origin of this phrase. Three explanations are given here, but they are not very convincing (I am not a native speaker).
In one of our newspapers, ...
3
votes
1answer
474 views
Origin of “to see it through”
What is the origin of the phrase "to see it through"? How early was it invented? Would it sound out of place in an attempt to emulate older (200–400 years older) English?
8
votes
2answers
242 views
Why is the current unrest in the Arab world called the “Arab Spring”?
Does spring in "Arab Spring" refer to the season - or something else?
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Do you “call an audible” when you “play it by ear”?
I recently overheard the phrase, "call an audible" and mentally likened it to, "play it by ear." But when I went to look it up, I discovered that the general consensus is that the former hails from ...
2
votes
2answers
201 views
Is there any categorical name for these kind of words?
Words which are derived from Sanskrit (which is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Or Hindi into English.
For example:
avatar
...
4
votes
1answer
303 views
Chicks - Girls, Cats - Boys?
The 1950's song Fever (covered, among others, by Elvis Presley) contains the following lines:
Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Cats were born to give chicks ...
7
votes
1answer
247 views
What is the meaning of the idiom “Like the Nation”?
In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are several curious references to "the nation". For example, in chapter 22:
And at last, sure enough, [...] the horse broke loose, and away he ...
3
votes
3answers
333 views
Where did the expression “every last one” come from?
There is, after all, only one last one. Why did it become common to say "every last one"?
Dictionary.com has a definition for last as follows:
8.
individual; single: The lecture won't start ...
1
vote
3answers
3k views
What does “everything's gone pear-shaped” mean?
I've recently heard this phrase spoken twice on a British television show, and I assume it means something along the lines of, "everything's fallen apart," generally meaning, things are bad right now. ...
3
votes
2answers
10k views
Can someone explain the phrase “All is fair in love and war”?
What are its origins and what does it really mean?
5
votes
6answers
8k views
What is the origin of the saying, “faint heart never won fair lady”?
Having heard the phrase, "faint heart never won fair lady" for the third time in very short span, I'm determined to find out its origin. Unfortunately, when I Google, I'm getting a bunch of ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Where did the idiom “giving a heads up” come from?
I know giving heads up means to inform someone, but how does that relate to the literal meaning i.e. giving heads up? What's the background? Where did it come from?
9
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the origin of the phrase “'til the cows come home”?
What is the origin of the term 'til the cows come home? While discussing this with friends tonight, the group had two possible explanations:
Cows return to their barn for milking at a given time ...
7
votes
2answers
691 views
8
votes
2answers
2k views
what is the origin of the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”?
Googling for the origin of "A penny for your thoughts," I have only found the origin of a likely-related phrase "my two cents" and simple dictionary entries for "a penny for your thoughts." What is ...
