7
votes
What is the origin and meaning of the phrase “wear the brown helmet”?
From a 2011 book by Alan Axelrod: The Cheaper the Crook, the Gaudier the Patter: Forgotten Hipster Lines, Tough Guy Talk, and Jive Gems
It seems the expression wear the brown helmet is derived from ...
- 92.3k
5
votes
What is the first recorded usage of the three Rs: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic?
OED
I.3. the three R's: reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic,
regarded as the fundamentals of education. Also in extended use,
with reference to watchwords, key concepts, etc., in other spheres.
[The ...
- 45.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Using "other words" instead of "in other words" in American English
There are a few true hits for this in COCA when searching "PUNC other words" including in the book Bleachers:
"Mona is very fertile."
"Evidently. How does she look?"
&...
- 67.1k
3
votes
What is the origin of the phrase "the world is on fire"?
I would question whether "'the world is on fire,' meaning that everything is going to hell in a handbasket," is even a common usage today. Recent uses in Google Books seem to be either ...
- 6,139
1
vote
What is the origin and meaning of the phrase “wear the brown helmet”?
As Mari-Lou A indicates in her answer, "win the porcelain hairnet" has been around since at least the early 1960s, and "porcelain hairnet" since at least the mid-1930s. From Harold ...
- 166k
1
vote
Help recall the exact idiom "I'm against my brother, I'm with my brother against my cousin, I'm with my brother and cousing against everyone else"
That saying is an Old Arabic proverb and it is of the same sentiment as blood is thicker than water, not that there must always be a rival.
If you quarrel with your brother, your loyalty to your ...
- 11
1
vote
What does "box-ticker" mean when applied to a person?
Not the sense of the phrase the question is asking about, but in Australian English, "box-ticker" can have a meaning similar to "Pretendian" in the US – someone who ticks the box ...
- 111
1
vote
What is the first recorded usage of the three Rs: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic?
Here is the lead paragraph of the Wikipedia article on William Curtis, 1st Baronet:
Sir William Curtis, 1st Baronet (25 January 1752 – 18 January 1829)[2] was an English merchant, banker, politician ...
- 166k
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