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Results tagged with etymology
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user 100591
Questions about tracing out and describing the elements of an individual word, as well as the historical changes in form and sense which that word has experienced over its history. Please use the 'phrase-origin' tag for phrase/expression origins.
0
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What is the origin of the idiom "with all the bells and whistles"?
My answer to my own question:
I suddenly felt like combing the google books archive for this phrase, trying to see how this phrase has evolved. I don't know how comprehensive the archive the good fol …
- 426
20
votes
11
answers
14k
views
What is the origin of the idiom "with all the bells and whistles"?
No major dictionary website carries the origin of this proverb. Some blogs speculate that it comes from a locomotive usage. In the days of the steam engine, engines would be equipped with bells and wh …
- 426