If you post your favorite and their original meaning. I’ll list them. Used cold turkey this morning in a post and was thinking, what does that mean exactly? If I don’t get yours into the list in post 1 or I post something incorrect, please give a shout, public or private. 
Update
Links
Update
- 15Jan24- Added phrase “Smart as Paint”.
- 18Apr21- Added Greene’s Slang link.
- 17Apr 21- Added Blue Moon.
- 20Apr21-Added Pipe Dream
- 31Dec- Added The lights are on, but no one’s home.
- 3 Oct- Added Hoisted by one’s own Petard
- 22Apr20- Added Bees Knees.
- 9Apr20- Added Oh My Stars and Garters.
- 24Sep19- Added Blowing smoke up your ass.
- 21Aug- Added Proof is in the Pudding, Son of a Gun, Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, Show a Leg, Splice The Mainbrace.
- 17Aug19- Added In Spades.
- Parentheses and number refers to the post number where it was mentioned.
- 9Jun- Added Put out to Pasture (#36), Get a Taste of their own medicine (#36), perfect storm (#36), Wild goose chase (#36), That Ship has sailed (#36), Pee in your Cheerios (#37), Happy as a Clam (#39), Jonesing For something (#40), No Problem (#44), Dryer than a popcorn fart (#47).
Links
- Cornish Slang: (#43) http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/08/20-cornish-slang-terms-that-require-translation
- Definition: Idiom id·i·om, ˈidēəm/, noun 1.a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light ).
- Green’s Dictionary of Slang: (#213) https://greensdictofslang.com/
- As all get out- (Sandbox General #2)
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=as all get out
to describe something in absolute relativity to its spectrum of reality
This place is cool as all get out. This food is gross as all get out. She is lookin' hot as all get out. He is sharp as all get out tonight!
#totally#completely#entirely#wholly#absolutely - Bees Knees- Urban Dictionary. As in: your the bees knees! When bees flit from flower to flower the nectar sticks to their legs. The phrase "bee's knees" means sweet and good, because the knees of the bee are where all the sweet, good stuff is collected.
- Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea (Ruggy #152)- Online Source. A plank running round the ship which was wet and slippery and thus treacheous and known as ‘the devil’. So to get round the outside of the ship you to hang onto the railn and had the slippery deck on one side and the sea on the other. Meaning to be between a rock and a hard place.
- Bless Your Heart (AustinIllini #36)- Depending on usage, has a range of meaning from a snide comment, to a genuine compliment for a variety of reasons. See this Quora link: https://www.quora.com/Is-Bless-your...-be-said-and-received-as-a-face-value-comment
- Blowing smoke up your ass
When someone is "blowing smoke up your arse" today, it is a figure of speech that means that one person is complimenting another, insincerely most of the time, in order to inflate the ego of the individual being flattered.
"Blowing Smoke Up Your Ass" Used to Be Literal
When someone is "blowing smoke up your arse" today, it is a figure of speech that means that one person is complimenting another, insincerely most of the time, in order to inflate the ego of the individual being flattered.
gizmodo.com
Back in the late 1700s, however, doctors literally blew smoke up people's rectums. Believe it or not, it was a general mainstream medical procedure used to, among many other things, resuscitate people who were otherwise presumed dead. In fact, it was such a commonly used resuscitation method for drowning victims particularly, that the equipment used in this procedure was hung alongside certain major waterways, such as along the River Thames (equipment courtesy of the Royal Humane Society). People frequenting waterways were expected to know the location of this equipment similar to modern times concerning the location of defibrillators. - Bohica!- (Huntn #27) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_slang_terms. From the US Navy, but don’t know how widespread that is. This link says armed forces from Vietnam era and I servered under Vietnam Viets so... Bend over, here it comes again, a term with an obvious sexual reference, which men seem to like (the reference ) but having to do with facing some kind of adversity or unpleasantness, situational or put on the individual by authority, such as Bohica, we are being deployed again!
- Cold Turkey- Without preparation. First used in correlation with withdrawl from an addictive substance in the 1920s with regards to heroin addiction. The idea being that "cold turkey" is a food that requires little to no preparation to eat - hence doing something "cold turkey" means the action will be done without preparation & immediately. Also connected to the notion that the symptoms of withdrawl from many substances include cold sweats (moisture), and sallow skin - much like that of a cold, dead, turkey. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cold Turkey
- Once in a blue moon- (Huntn #212) a rare occurrence. I grew up thinking this just meant that, not that there was really a rare blue moon, literally or figuratively. Link.
- Cut Someone Down To Size-(Ruggy #152) Source: If someone is cut down to size, something happens to make them realize that they are not as importantas they think they are. UK origin navy term: The width of a hammock was determined by a stick cut to the width of the shoulders. If someone made the stick too wide they were ‘a cut above themself’ and hence their crew mates would ‘cut them down to size’.
- Dekko (Have a Dekko, Take a Dekko)- (MobileHaathi #5)
Late 19th century (originally used by the British army in India): from Hindi dekho ‘look!’, imperative of dekhnā. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dekko. Another link says the phrase migrated back to England with soldiers on leave. - Dryer than a popcorn fart (Barley #47)- It's dry or it's hot. Origin uncertain: https://definithing.com/popcorn-fart/
- FUBAR- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_slang_terms. Fouled up beyond all recognition. Sometimes used with different F word.
- Get a taste of their own medicine (AustinIllini #36)- Get treated the way you've been treating others (negative)https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+a+taste+of+own+medicine
- Gone dooally (Jeremy H #17) https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/doolally Early 20th century: originally doolally tap, Indian army slang, from Deolali (the name of a town with a military sanatorium and a transit camp) + Urdu tap ‘fever’.
- Gauntlet- Thow down the Guantlet: (Scepticalscribe #18) lhttps://www.history.com/news/what-does-it-mean-to-throw-down-the-gauntlet. Today the phrase “throw down the gauntlet” means to challenge or confront someone, but in its earliest use it wasn’t meant as a metaphor, but was a physical action intended to issue a formal challenge to a duel. The word itself comes from the French word “gantelet,” and referred to the heavy, armored gloves worn by medieval knights. In an age when chivalry and personal honor were paramount, throwing a gauntlet at the feet of an enemy or opponent was considered a grave insult that could only be answered with personal combat, and the offended party was expected to “take up the gauntlet” to acknowledge and accept the challenge.
- Gauntlet- Run the Gauntlet: A similar-sounding phrase, “to run the gauntlet,” has a completely different origin, deriving from the Swedish word “gatlopp” and Old English “gantlope,” meaning lane course or passageway. This gauntlet referred to a military punishment in which a prisoner was forced to run or walk between two columns of troops as they struck him with clubs, heavy ropes, whips or leather straps.
- Handbags at Dawn (Arkitect #24) A catty fight. Derives from the more traditional "pistols at dawn", but with the selection of weapon implying that the participants are of the weaker sex. Works especially well if they're actually male. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Handbags at dawn
- Happy as a Clam (A.Goldberg #39)
Very happy. An abbreviation of the expression “happy as a clam at high tide”. Clams of course would be happy if they could be happy at high tide as they’d be covered with water. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/as-happy-as-a-clam.html - Hoisted by one’s own Petard- means to fall foul of your own deceit or fall into your own trap. (Huntn). Link. This term has its origin in medieval times when a military commander would send forward one of his engineers with a cast-iron container full of gunpowder, called a petard, to blow up a castle gate, obstacle, or bridge. The fuses on these bombs were very unreliable, and sometimes the engineers would be killed when the petards exploded prematurely. The explosion would blow (or hoist) the engineer into the air.
- In Spades (Huntn #162,p7) a phrase that means in abundance, which relates to “spade fulls” as in a garden spade, and it is also cupoukd related to a suite in cards.
- Jonesing for something (Mefisto #40) "[to be] jonesing for [something]", often used when referring to drugs, but can be used to refer to pretty much any craving. I'd heard it a million times, but just recently learned that it refers to a certain "Great Jones Street" in Manhattan, apparently at some point in time known for drug related activities. http://mentalfloss.com/article/49625/how-did-jones-come-mean-craving
The New Oxford American Dictionary has “Origin 1960’s: said to come from Jones Alley, in Manhattan, associated with drug addicts.”
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/17601/where-did-im-jonesing-get-its-meaning-from - Knock you up- (JBarley #13)
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/knock+you+up 1. rude slang To impregnate someone. A noun or pronoun can be used between "knock" and"up." I really hope I didn't knock her up—I'm not ready to be a dad. 2. To awaken or call for someone by knocking at their door. A noun or pronoun can be used between "knock" and "up." Primarily heard in the UK. I can knock you up when my alarm goes. - The lights are on but no one’s home- A humorous expression used to say that someone is stupid, unthinking, or inattentive. I known this phrase for decades, but heard this today in a song by Robert Palmer and had to post. Link. (Huntn #205) Doctor Q comment:There are a lot of variations on that phrase. It's similar to the various forms of a few eggs short of a dozen or not playing with a full deck.
- No Problem (Huntn #44)- An overused phrase, often incorrectly used in the service industry. A cliche that has become a common reply for many interactions where a customer is ordering an item off a menu, where a better response is to reply in a positive manner such as "my pleasure to sever you" or "my pleasure". The correct usage is when a circumstance puts the person using this phase, in essence to be inconvenienced, but to signal they are ok with the situation. Example: I accidentally spilled my water all over the floor. Response: No problem (we'll clean it up).
- Oh My Stars And Garters!- An expression of surprise, with an origination in the UK. The basis of the phrase the garter, the highest award that a king or queen of England could give a knight. Other royal awards are in the shape of a star. Therefore, stars and garters refers to royal honors and awards. Link 1, Link 2.
- Over the Top- (Sceptical Scribe #7) The term over the top is used when something is done in excessive amounts or beyond reasonable limits. It is sometimes (in the UK at least) shortened to O.T.T. The term was first coined during the Great War when the troops became engaged in trench warfare. When the troops were sent over the trench wall, the order given would usually be over the top lads and best of luck. The over the top tactic gained little or no land, but it saw thousands of men slaughtered as they crossed no-man's land http://www.grammar-monster.com/sayings_proverbs/over_the_top.htm
- Pee in Your Cheerios (Mousse #37)- A term used to draw attention to someone's bad mood, bitchiness. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=peed in your cheerios
- Perfect storm (AustinIllini #36)- A "perfect storm" describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances aggravate a situation drastically. In all normal contexts, anything described as a "perfect storm" is likely to have catastrophically bad consequences.
- Pipe Dream (Huntn #211, page 9)- an unrealistic hope or fantasy and alludes to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes. Link.
- Proof Is In The Pudding (Millerj123 #164 )- Online Source. The idiom means that the end result is the mark of the success or failure of one’s efforts or planning. The phrase may also be used in the past and future tenses: the proof will be/was in the pudding.
- Put out to pasture (AustinIllini #36)- For a person forced to retire. For a piece of equipment, replaced with newer equipment. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+out+to+pasture
- Raining Cats and Dogs- A literal explination for raining cats and dogs is that during heavy rains in 17-century England some city streets became raging rivers of filth carrying many dead cats and dogs. The first printed use of the phrase does date to the 17th centurey, when English playwright Richard Brome wrote in The City Witt (1652): "It shall rain dogs and polecats." His use of "polecats" certainly suggests a less literal explination , but no better theory has been offered. Other conjectures are the the hyperbole comes from a Greek saying, similar in sound, meaning "an unlikely occurrence," https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Raining cats and dogs
- Read the Riot Act- (Scepticalscribe #25) And then there is "reading the riot act" - which - in modern metaphorical use means the last warning from an authority figure (such as a parent, or teacher) before some sanction is imposed. "You lot, I'm about to read you the riot act.."
Historically, of course, it meant something similar; a crowd may have gathered to protest an especially egregious act on the part of the authorities, and, once the forces of law and order (the use of this Act predated the existence of the police, so something along the lines of dragoons would have been used) had made an appearance, before they charged, or were allowed to charge, a figure clad in the robes of authority (such as a magistrate) would literally announce to the crowd that he was about to "read the Riot Act" which - in essence - instructed them to disperse before they were charged and gave legal force to the act of charging by the mounted soldiery. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/read-the-riot-act.html - Saved by the Bell- A reference to a safety coffin when there was a fear of being buried alive, or a boxer about to lose a fight, saved by the bell rung at the end of the round. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/saved-by-the-bell.html
- Ship has Sailed (AustinIllini #36)- That ship has sailed. It is too late, or that decision has already been made. https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-idiom-this-ship-has-sailed-mean-Whats-its-origin
- Show a Leg (Ruggy #152) Online Link UK Navy origin: On leaving port the cry would go out ‘show a leg’ and everyone sleeping had to stick a leg out of bed. Someone was tasked to go round the officer’s quaters. If it was a woman’s leg they would haul them out and kick them off the ship. Nowadays used to mean the same as ‘look lively’ or wake up and get on with it.
- Sick- (i7Guy #35) as in This is sick. Depending on the connotation, the original meaning is this is sickening, as a sickening sight. But somewhere in the last 40 years, it has turned into something that is exceptionally cool. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=that's sick. link 2:https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/131116/this-is-so-sick
- Since Moses Wore Short Pants (AustinIllini #36)- References something that happened a long time ago, referencing the early 20th century, when the phrase originated, boys wore short pants (knickers), so when Moses wore short pants, that was a very long time ago. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091013074448AAPtn19
- Six ways from Sunday (maculateConception #30)
Use this phrase to describe something you did or would like to do a good amount of times. This phrase says "six ways" which represent the six days after Sunday in a week (Monday - Saturday). It can have a positive or negative cannotation depending on the manner in which you use it. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=six ways from sunday - Smart as Paint- The phrase smart as paint is said by Long John Silver to Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island. It was only one of many versions that have been invented from the 1850s onwards, among them fresh as paint, snug as paint, clever as paint, pretty as paint, and handsome as paint. They’re all similes that draw on some special quality of paint, but smart as paint punningly combines two senses of smart— the idea of new paint being bright and fresh in appearance and that of a person who is quick-witted and intelligent. https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sma3.htm (post #229 Huntn, p10)
- Son of a Gun- (Ruggy #152) Online Source. Son of a gun: from the time of ‘The Blocade’ when prostitutes remained on ship. If one got pregnant they traditionally gave birth on a section screened off on the gun deck. As the father of the child was unknown the certificate would read ‘Son of the gundeck’ later shortened to ‘Son of a gun'.
- SNAFU- (Scepticalscribe #23) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snafu. A military term Situation Normal All Fouled Up. Sometimes used with a different F word.
- Splice the Mainbrace (Ruggy #152)- Online Source. Is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink. Originally an order for one of the most difficult emergency repair jobs aboard a sailing ship, it became a euphemism for authorized celebratory drinking afterward, and then the name of an order to grant the crew an extra ration of rum or grog.
- The Whole Nine Yards (AustinIllini #36)- a colloquial American English phrase refers to everything, the whole lot, all the way. Other words can be and are substituted, fill in the blank, the whole _________ (ball of wax, first recorded in the 1880s, enchilada, shooting match, shebang or hog. The choice of the number nine may be related to the expression "To the nines" (to perfection) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_whole_nine_yards
- Toot Sweet(s)- (JBarley #23)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toot_Sweets
The song title is a play on words, a humorous Anglicisation of the French expression "tout de suite", meaning "at once" or "right away". During World War I British soldiers serving in France, most of whom could not speak French, adopted the phrase as "toot sweet" to mean "hurry up" or "look smart".[1][2 - Upper Crust- A reference to the top level of society, comparing it to the upper crust of a loaf of bread, by virtue of being on the top, the unburned part of the bread, or the portion of the bread not contaminated by heavy metals or other contaminants. I heard the last explanation on a European tour. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/upper-crust.html
- Wet (Zenithal #33)- Variation: all wet (mistaken), wet behind the ears (inexperienced), wet blanket (no fun, stop being a wet blanket). This has quite a range of mostly negative meanings from feeble, or child minded to being ready for sex, intoxicated, urinate. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/all--wet
- Wild Goose Chase (AustinIllini #36)- A pointless, or hopeless endeavor. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/wild-goose-chase.html
- Wigs on the Green- (Scepticalscribe #21) https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wigs on the green. In modern use, it means a sharp disagreement or fight. 'Oh, there'll be wigs on the green after that." Historically, it also meant the same thing, but physically, rather than metaphorically; the term itself dates from the 18th century, when gentlemen wore periwigs, or wigs, and - if involved in a physical fight, or fisticuffs, - their wigs might just go flying onto the grass, or village green.
- Your mother’s a whore (Future-Proof #31)
Origin: friends of children of prostitutes mocking them for their mother’s career.
Meaning: to denigrate one’s friend, jokingly, or when angered in traffic.
Variation: Son of a whore!
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=but the point of the story is, your mother's a whore - Yuppie- (Scepticalscribe #28) Yuppie was an acronym- 'young-upwardly-mobile-person' - and it described the brash and confident young things who made a fortune in the stock markets in the 1980s when the markets were deregulated, elbowing out the older stuffy mannered antiques who had run things cosily for an absolute age.
- When Push Comes to Shove- (Huntn #161) is an American idiom that describes that critical time when a decision must be made, when a commitment must be made, when action must be taken to back up words. The phrase when push comes to shove carries the connotation of escalation, a push being milder than a shove. There is some discussion as to where the phrase when push comes to shovehas come from, currently it is believed to have originated in black American English during the late 1800s. There is little doubt that when push comes to shove was used in spoken English long before it was popularized in written English, starting some time in the 1950s. A related phrase is if push comes to shove. https://grammarist.com/idiom/when-push-comes-to-shove/
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