cliches and expressions origins

origins and meanings of cliches, expressions and words

wouldn't/didn't/don't know him from adam/adam's brother/adam's off ox, etc - a man completely unknown (to whoever is using the term) - the expression of not knowing him/you from Adam, (or as used in the USA from 'Adam's off ox', together with other Adam associations) has according to etymology sources (notably M Quinion's Worldwidewords resource) been in print in its basic 'Adam' sense since the late 1800s in England, and in spoken use for many years prior to this in England and the USA; in fact the reference to one of the most famous characters of the Bible suggests that the origin of the expression could be hundreds of years earlier than when first used in print. The basis of the meaning is that Adam, being the first man ever, and therefore the farthest removed from anyone, symbolises a man that anyone is least likely to know. Out of interest, an 'off ox' would have been the beast pulling the cart on the side farthest from the driver, and therefore less known than the 'near ox'. This extension to the expression was American (Worldwidewords references the dictionary of American Regional English as the source of a number of such USA regional variations); the 'off ox' and other extensions such as Adam's brother or Adam's foot, are simply designed to exaggerate the distance of the acquaintance.

alligator - the reptile - the word has Spanish origins dating back at least 500 years, whose language first described the beast in the USA and particularly the Mid-Americas, such as to give the root of the modern English word. Alligators were apparently originally called El Lagarto de Indias (The Lizard of the Indies), 'el lagarto', logically meaning 'the lizard'. Initially the word entered English as lagarto in the mid-1500s, after which it developed into aligarto towards the late 1500s, and then was effectively revised to allegater by Shakespeare when he used the word in Romeo and Juliet, in 1623. It seems (ack S Burgos) that the modern Spanish word (and notably in Castellano) for lizard is lagartija, and lagarto now means alligator.

all-singing all-dancing - full of features/gimmicks - the term was first used in advertising for the 1929 musical film, the first with sound, Broadway Melody.

smart alec/smart aleck/smart alick - someone who is very or 'too' clever (esp. in a cocky manner) According to etymologist David Wilton the most likely origin was suggested by Gerald Cohen in a 1985 article which appeared in the publication Studies In Slang. Cohen suggests the origin dates back to 1840s New York City fraudster Aleck Hoag, who, with his wife posing as a prostitute, would rob the customers. Hoag bribed the police to escape prosecution, but ultimately paid the price for being too clever when he tried to cut the police out of the deal, leading to the pair's arrest. In describing Hoag at the time, the police were supposedly the first to use the 'smart aleck' expression.

amateur - non-professional or un-paid, or more recently an insulting term meaning unprofessional - the word originates from the same spelling in Old French 'amateur' meaning 'lover', originally meaning in English a lover of an activity. The Old French word is derived from Latin 'amare' meaning 'to love'.

ampersand - the '&' symbol, meaning 'and' - the word ampersand appeared in the English language in around 1835. It is a corrupted (confused) derivation of the term 'And per se', which was the original formal name of the & symbol in glossaries, alphabets, and official reference works. 'Per se' is Latin and meant 'by itself', as it still does today. Traditionally all letters were referenced formally in the same way. The letter A would have been 'A per se', B would have been called 'B per se', just as the '&' symbol was 'And per se'. The ampersand symbol itself is a combination - originally a ligature (literally a joining) - of the Letters E and t, or E and T, being the Latin word 'et' meaning 'and'. The earliest representations of the ampersand symbol are found in Roman scriptures dating back nearly 2,000 years. If you inspect various ampersand symbols you'll see the interpretation of the root ET or Et letters. The symbol has provided font designers more scope for artistic impression than any other character, and ironically while it evolved from hand-written script, few people use it in modern hand-writing, which means that most of us have difficulty in reproducing a good-looking ampersand by hand without having practised first. (See the ampersand exercise ideas.)

alma mater - (my) university - from the Latin, meaning 'fostering mother'.

almanac - diary - either or both from the Arabic 'al manac' meaning 'the diary' and/or from Saxon term 'al-mon-aght' meaning 'all moon heed', which was the record of new and full moons.

apple of his eye/apple of your eye/apple of my eye - a person much adored or doted on, loved, held dearly, and central to the admirer's affections and sensitivities - the 'apple of his eye' expression first appeared in the Bible, Deuteronomy, chapter 32, verse 10, in which Moses speaks of God's caring for Jacob: "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye". Brewer's 1870 dictionary of Phrase and Fable describes the 'apple of the eye' expression (or apple of your eye, apple of his/her eye, apple of my eye) as being a metaphor based on the pupil's significance within the eye. The theory goes that in ancient times the pupil of the eye (the black centre) was thought to be a small hard ball, for which an apple was a natural symbol. Logically the pupil or apple of a person's eye described someone whom was held in utmost regard - rather like saying the 'centre of attention'. Strangely Brewer references Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 3, which seems to be an error since the verse is definitely 10.

apple-pie bed - practical joke, with bed-sheets folded preventing the person from getting in - generally assumed to be derived from the apple-turnover pastry, but more likely from the French 'nappe pliee', meaning 'folded sheet'.

arbour/arbor - shady place with sides and roof formed by trees or shrubs - the word was 'erber' in Middle English (according to Chambers a 1300s piece of writing called the Thrush And The Nightingale - whatever that was - apparently included the word). Erber came from 'herber' meaning a garden area of grasses, flowers, herbs, etc, from, logically Old French and in turn from from Latin, herba, meaning herb or grass. Interestingly the switch to 'arbor/arbour' from 'erber' was among many e/a spelling and pronunciation changes that took place in late middle ages English: farm used to be 'ferme'; 'carve' used to be 'kerven; starve used to be 'sterven', and which also caused some of the modern a/e phonetic quirks, when the pronunciation changed but the spelling remained, eg., the city Derby, pronounced (in England) as 'darby', and sergeant pronounced 'sargeant' (although it is also spelled as such in some surnames). Apparently the modern 'arbor/arbour' tree-related meaning developed c.1500s when it was linked with the Latin 'arbor', meaning tree - originally the beam tree, and which gave us the word 'aboretum' being the original Latin word for a place where trees are cultivated for special purposes, particularly scientific study.

assassin - killer - the original Assassins were Carmathian warriers based in Mount Lebanon around the eleventh century; they terrorised the middle eastern world for two hundred years, supposedly high on hashish most of the time, particularly prior to battle.

avatar - (modern meaning) iconic or alter-ego used instead of real identity, especially on websites - Avatar is an old Hindu concept referring to the descent or manifestation of a god or released soul to earthly existence, typically as a divine teacher. The word history is given by Cassells to be 18th century, taken from Sanskrit avatata meaning descent, from the parts ava meaning down or away, and tar meaning pass or cross over. In more recent times the word has simplified and shifted subtly to mean more specifically the spiritual body itself rather than the descent or manifestation of the body, and before its adoption by the internet, avatar had also come to mean an embodiment or personification of something, typically in a very grand manner, in other words, a "...presentation to the world as a ruling power or object of worship..." (OED, 1952). The virtual reality community website Secondlife was among the first to popularise the moden use of the word in website identities, and it's fascinating how the modern meaning has been adapted from the sense of the original word.

(don't) throw the baby out with the bath water - lose a good opportunity as part of a bigger clear-out, over-react in a way that appears to stem a particular problem, but in so doing results in the loss of something valuable or good - while the expression might well have been strengthened by a popular myth which suggested that centuries ago whole families bathed one after the other in a single bathtub, it is not likely that this practice, if ever it did prevail, actually spawned the expression . The idea of losing a baby when disposing of a bathtub's dirty water neatly fits the meaning, but the origins of the expression are likely to be no more than a simple metaphor. Wolfgang Mieder's article '(Don't) throw the baby out with the bathwater' (full title extending to: 'The Americanization of a German Proverb and Proverbial Expression', which appears in De Proverbio - Issue 1:1995 - a journal of international proverb studies) seems to be the most popular reference document relating to the expression's origins, in which the German Thomas Murner's 1512 book 'Narrenbeschwörung' is cited as the first recorded use of the baby and bathwater expression. Murner, who was born in 1475 and died in 1537, apparently references the baby and bathwater expression several times in his book, indicating that he probably did not coin the metaphor and that it was already established in Germany at that time. (Thanks MS for assistance)

take a back seat - have little or only observational involvement in something - not a car metaphor, this was originally a parliamentary expression derived from the relative low influence of persons and issues from the back benches (the bench-seats where members sit in the House of Commons), as opposed to the front benches, where the leaders of the government and opposition sit.

backs to the wall/backs against the wall - defend fiercely against a powerful threat - achieved cliche status following inclusion (of the former version) in an order from General Haig in 1918 urging British troops to fight until the end against German forces.

bandbox/out of a bandbox/fresh out of a bandbox - smart (of appearance) - this is an old English expression whose origins date back to the mid-1600s, when a bandbox was a box in which neckbands were kept. Later the use of bandbox was extended to equate to a hatbox, so the meaning of the phrase alludes to someone's appearance, especially their clothing, being as smart as a new hat fresh out of a hatbox. In more recent times, as tends to be with the evolution of slang, the full expression has been shortened simply to 'bandbox'. In the US bandbox is old slang (late 1600s, through to the early 1930s) for a country workhouse or local prison, which, according to Cassells also referred later (1940s-50s) to a prison from which escape is easy. These US slang meanings are based on allusion to the small and not especially robust confines of a cardboard hatbox.

bring home the bacon - achieve a challenge, bring back the prize or earn a living - the history of the 'bring home the bacon' expression is strange: logical reasoning suggests that the origins date back hundreds of years, and yet evidence in print does not appear until the 1900s, and so most standard reference sources do not acknowledge usage of the 'bring home the bacon' expression earlier before the 20th century. I am therefore at odds with most commentators and dictionaries for suggesting the following: The 'bring home the bacon' expression essentially stems from the fact that bacon was the valuable and staple meat provision of common people hundreds of years ago, and so was an obvious metaphor for a living wage or the provision of basic sustenance. Peasants and poor town-dwelling folk in olden times regarded other meats as simply beyond their means, other than for special occasions if at all. Bacon was a staple food not just because of availability and cost but also because it could be stored for several weeks, or most likely hung up somewhere, out of the dog's reach. Other reasons for the significance of the word bacon as an image and metaphor in certain expressions, and for bacon being a natural association to make with the basic needs of common working people, are explained in the 'save your bacon' meanings and origins below. Additionally the 'bring home the bacon' expression, like many other sayings, would have been appealing because it is phonetically pleasing (to say and to hear) mainly due to the 'b' alliteration (repetition). Expressions which are poetic and pleasing naturally survive and grow - 'Bring home the vegetables' doesn't have quite the same ring. According to Allen's English Phrases there could possibly have been a contributory allusion to pig-catching contests at fairs, and although at first glance the logic for this seems not to be strong (given the difference between a live pig or a piglet and a side of cured bacon) the suggestion gains credibility when we realise that until the late middle ages bacon referred more loosely to the meat of a pig, being derived from German for back. Whatever, the idea of 'bringing home' implicity suggests household support, and the metaphor of bacon as staple sustenance is not only supported by historical fact, but also found in other expressions of olden times. For example (according to Grose, Brewer, and Partridge/Dictionary of the Canting Crew) in the 1600s having or being in 'a good voice to beg bacon' described an ill-sounding voice, and thereby an under-nourished or needy person. Given so much association between bacon and common people's basic dietary needs it is sensible to question any source which states that 'bring home the bacon' appeared no sooner than the 20th century, by which time ordinary people had better wider choice of other sorts of other meat, so that then the metaphor would have been far less meaningful. In other words, why would people have fixed onto the bacon metaphor when it was no longer a staple and essential presence in people's diets? Fascinatingly the establishment and popularity of the expression was perhaps also supported if not actually originally underpinned by the intriguing 13th century custom at Dunmow in Essex, apparently (according to Brewer) founded by a noblewoman called Juga in 1111 and restarted in 1244 by Robert de Fitzwalter, whereby any man from anywhere in England who, kneeling on two stones at the church door, could swear that for the past year he had not argued with his wife nor wished to be parted from her, would be awarded a 'gammon of bacon'. Seemingly this gave rise to the English expression, which according to Brewer was still in use at the end of the 1800s 'He may fetch a flitch of bacon from Dunmow' (a flitch is a 'side' of bacon; a very large slab), which referred to a man who was amiable and good-tempered to his wife. This meaning is very close to the modern sense of 'bringing home the bacon': providing a living wage and thus supporting the family. The precise source of the 'Dunmow Flitch' tale, and various other references in this item, is Ebeneezer Cobham Brewer's 1870 Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, revised and enlarged in 1894 (much referenced on this page because it is wonderful; not to be confused with modern etymology dictionaries bearing the name Brewer, which are quite different to the original 1870/revised 1894 version). Regrettably Cobham Brewer does not refer specifically to the 'bring home the bacon expression' in his 1870/1894 work, but provides various information as would suggest the interpretations above.

save your bacon - to save from injury or loss (material, reputation, etc) - Brewer refers to this expression in his 1870 dictionary so it was certainly established by then, and other etymologists suggest it has been around at least since the 17th century. Brewer says one origin is the metaphor of keeping the household's winter store of bacon protected from huge numbers of stray scavenging dogs. In that sense the meaning was to save or prevent a loss. The establishment of the expression however relies on wider identification with the human form: Bacon and pig-related terms were metaphors for 'people' in several old expressions of from 11th to 19th century, largely due to the fact that In the mid-to-late middle ages, bacon was for common country people the only meat affordably available, which caused it and associated terms (hog, pig, swine) to be used to describe ordinary country folk by certain writers and members of the aristocracy. Norman lords called Saxon people 'hogs'. A 'chaw-bacon' was a derogatory term for a farm labourer or country bumpkin (chaw meant chew, so a 'chaw-bacon' was the old equivalent of the modern insult 'carrot-cruncher'). 'Baste your bacon', meant to strike or scourge someone, (bacon being from the the outside of a side of pork would naturally be imagined to be the outer-body part of a pig - or person - to receive a blow). See also 'bring home the bacon'.

my bad/it's my bad - "It's my fault/mistake" (an acknowledgement of blame) - this is from US college/university campus 1980s slang, (or perhaps 1970s from reactions below - let me know your earliest recollections please), in which 'bad' means mistake or fault (that caused a bad thing), hence 'it's my bad', or more succinctly, 'my bad'. It's simply a shortening of 'The bad thing that happened was my fault, sorry'. The word bad in this case has evolved to mean 'mistake which caused a problem'. It's another example of the tendency for language to become abbreviated for more efficient (and stylised) communications. In this case the abbreviation is also a sort of teenage code, which of course young people everywhere use because they generally do not wish to adopt lifestyle and behaviour advocated by parents, teachers, authority, etc., and so develop their own style and behaviour, including language. For new meanings of words to evolve there needs to be a user-base of people that understands the new meanings. Initially the 'my bad' expression was confined to a discrete grouping, ie., US students, and the meaning wasn't understood outside of that group. Now it seems the understanding and usage of the 'my bad' expression has grown, along with the students, and entered the mainstream corporate world, no doubt because US middle management and boardrooms now have a high presence of people who were teenagers at college or university 20 years ago. I am also informed (thanks K Korkodilos) that the 'my bad' expression was used in the TV series 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', and that this seems to have increased its popular mainstream usage during the 1990s, moreover people using the expression admitted to watching the show when asked about the possible connection. Additionally (thanks M Woolley) apparently the 'my bad' expression is used by the Fred character in the new (2006) Scooby Doo TV series, which is leading to the adoption of the phrase among the under-5's in London, and logically, presumbly, older children all over England too. There is it seems no stopping this one.. Also, (thanks J Davis) "...There's a common Mexican phrase, 'Mi malo', which means, literally, 'My bad', and it may be where this comes from, since it's a common phrase here in Southern California, and was before Buffy was ever on the air.." If you know anything of the history of the Mexican phrase Mi Malo please tell me. Furthemore, (thanks J Susky, Sep 2008) "...my first recollection of the term is on the basketball court, perhaps in my high school days, pre-June 1977, or my college days in Indiana, Aug 77-Mar 82. I'm fairly sure I first heard it in the summer, outdoors, in Anchorage, Alaska - which would put it pre-Sept 1977..."

baker's dozen - thirteen - in times when bakers incurred a heavy fine for giving short weight they used to add an extra loaf to avoid the risk.

balderdash - nonsense - nowadays balderdash means nonsense, but it meant ribaldry or jargon at the time of Brewer's 1870 dictionary. A still earlier meaning of the word was more precisely 'a jumbled mixture of words', and before that from Scandinavia 'a mixture'. Skeat's 1882 dictionary provides the most useful clues as to origins: Scandinavian meanings were for 'poor stuff' or a 'poor weak drink', which was obviously a mixture of sorts. In Danish 'balder' was noise or clatter, and the word danske was slap or flap, which led to an older alternative meaning of a 'confused noise', or any mixture. Certain dictionaries suggest an initial origin of a frothy drink from the English 16thC, but this usage was derived from the earlier 'poor drink' and 'mixture' meanings and therefore was not the root, just a stage in the expression's development.

balti - curry dish prepared in a heavy wok-like iron pan - derivation is less than clear for the 'balti' word. Balti is generally now regarded as being the anglicised name of the pan in which the balti dish is cooked, a pan which is conventionally known as the 'karai' in traditional Urdu language. The mythological explanation is that the balti pan and dish are somehow connected with the (supposed) 'Baltistan' region of Pakistan, or a reference to that region by imaginative England-based curry house folk, who seem first to have come up with the balti menu option during the 1990s. Etymologyst John Morrish in his Daily Telegraph/Frantic Semantics writings points out that the word balti however more typically means 'bucket' in the Indian sub-continent and that the whole thing might more likely have begun as a joke among curry house waiters in the West Midlands at the expense of ignorant English patrons, who then proceeded to spread the word by asking for the balti dish in restaurants farther afield. Indeed Hobson Jobson, the excellent Anglo-Indian dictionary, 2nd edition 1902, lists the word 'balty', with the clear single meaning: 'a bucket'. Further confirmation is provided helpfully by Ahmed Syed who kindly sent me the following about the subject: "Being a literary writer in Urdu I can confirm that the word Balti comes from Hindi/Urdu and means 'bucket' as you highlighted. In larger families or when guests visit, the need for larger pots arose. Balti dishes originate from Pakistan, customarily cooked in a wok style pan outside hotels and people's homes. The process is based on boiling the meat (of chicken or goat) on low heat with garlic (and chilli powder in some cases) until it is tender and the water reduced to a sauce. Then fresh tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and spices are added, and the meat is fried until a sauce is produced. Renowned as an extra spicy dish, the Balti is revered by young and old."

barbarian - rough or wild person - an early Greek and Roman term for a foreigner, meaning that they 'babbled' in a strange language (by which root we also have the word 'babble' itself). See also the derivation of the racial term 'Gringo', which has similar origins. Another school of thought and possible contributory origin is that apparently in Latin there was such a word as 'barba' meaning beard. A Roman would visit the tonsor to have his beard shaved, and the non Romans, who frequently wore beards (barbas), were thereby labelled barbarians. (Ack AA for the beard theory).

bated breath/baited breath - anxious, expectant (expecting explanation, answer, etc) - the former spelling was the original version of the expression, but the term is now often mistakenly corrupted to the latter 'baited' in modern use, which wrongly suggests a different origin. Many people seem now to infer a meaning of the breath being metaphorically 'baited' (like a trap or a hook, waiting to catch something) instead of the original non-metaphorical original meaning, which simply described the breath being cut short, or stopped (as with a sharp intake of breath). The expression appears in Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice (as bated), which dates its origin as 16th century or earlier. The word bate is a shortened form of abate, both carrying the same meaning (to hold back, reduce, stop, etc), and first appeared in the 1300s, prior to which the past tense forms were baten and abaten. (Ack J Vaughan)

battle of the bulge - diet/lose weight - the original Battle of the Bulge occurred in 1944 when German forces broke through Allied lines into Belgium, forming a 'bulge' in the defending lines.

battle lines - forces or position organised prior to confrontation or negotiation - from centuries ago when troops were organised in three lines of battle. And if you like more detail (ack K Dahm): when soldiers marched to or from a battle or between encampments in a column, there was a van, a main body, and a rear. On the battlefield the forces would open up to a broad front, with scouts forward to locate the other side, the main lines, and one or several reserves to the rear. The cavalry, or mobile force, would be separate and often on the outer edges of the formation. Each side would line up in a similar fashion, allowing for terrain and personal preference between the width of the line and the depth. When the opposing lines clashed, there would be a zone between them where fighting took place. Since there would be differences in ability and local strength, the lines would often bend and separate. The front lines formed by each force could also be called battle lines. The soldiers behind the front lines wesre expected to step up into the place of the ones ahead when they fell, and to push forward otherwise, such that 15th centruy and earlier battles often became shoving matches, with the front lines trying to wield weapons in a crush of men. The classic British Army of the Colonial and Napoleanic eras used a line that was three men deep, with the ranks firing and reloading in sequence. Since it took between 40 and 60 seconds to reload, that meant a volley fired every 15-20 seconds, which proved devestating to the opposing line. This formation and similar ones were used until the American Civil War, and later by other European powers. What ended the practice was the invention of magazine-fed weapons and especially machine guns, which meant that an opposing line could be rapidly killed. After the Great War, dispersion became the main means of fighing, with much looser units linking side to side to protect each others flanks, which became the WWII paradigm.

beak - judge or magistrate, also nose, alluding to a bird's bill - beak meaning judge or magistrate typically appears in the phrase 'up before the beak', meaning appearing in court. There are various suggestions for the origins of beak meaning judge or magistrate, which has been recorded as a slang expression since the mid-18th century, but is reasonably reliably said to have been in use in the 16th century in slightly different form, explained below. Francis Grose's 1785 Vulgar Tongue dictionary of Buckish Slang and Pickpocket Eloquence includes the entry: Beak - a justice of the peace or magistrate. In the 19th century the term beak also referred to a sherif's officer (English) or a policeman, and later (1910) beak was adopted as slang also by schoolchildren for a schoolmaster. In the First World War (1914-18) being up before the beak meant appearing before an (elderly) officer. Brewer's 1870 slang dictionary suggests beak derives from an Anglo-Saxon word beag, which was "...a gold collar or chain worn by civic magistrates..." Cassells also cites Hotton (1859) and Ware for this same suggested origin, which given that at least one pre-dates Brewer arguably adds extra weight. Brewer also cites an alternative: "...WH Black says 'The term is derived from a Mr Beke, who was formerly a resident magistrate at the Tower Hamlets..." Most moden formal sources however opt for the meaning simply that beak refers to a prominent nose and to the allusion of a person of authority sticking his (as would have been, rather than her) nose into other people's affairs. In considering this idea, it is possible of course that this association was particularly natural given the strange tendency of men's noses to grow with age, so that old judges (and other elderly male figures of authority) would commonly have big noses. Other theories include suggestions of derivation from a Celtic word meaning judgement, which seems not to have been substantiated by any reputable source, although interestingly (and perhaps confusingly) the French for beak, bec, is from Gaulish beccus, which might logically be connected with Celtic language, and possibly the Celtic wordstem bacc-, which means hook. Partridge says that the earlier form was beck, from the 16-17th centuries, meaning a constable, which developed into beak meaning judge by about 1860, although Grose's entry would date this development perhaps 100 years prior. And finally to totally confuse matters, Cassells Jonathan Green slang dictionary throws in the obscure (nevertheless favoured by Cassells) connection with harman-beck, also harman, which were slang terms for constable (combining harman meaning hard-man it is suggested, with beck or bec), from the mid 16th century. In summary we see that beak is a very old term with origins back to the 1500s, probably spelt bec and/or beck, and probably referring to a constable or sheriff's officer before it referred to a judge, during which transfer the term changed to beak, which reflected, albeit 200 years prior, the same development in the normal use of the word for a bird's bill, which had settled in English as beak by about 1380 from bec and bek. Whether these comparable developments suggest a stronger possibility for the beak/nose theory versus Brewer's gold collar idea you must decide for yourself. As with several other slang origins, the story is not of a single clear root, more like two or three contributory meanings which combine and support the end result.

get out of the wrong side of the bed - be in a bad mood - 1870 Brewer says the origin is from ancient superstition which held it to be unlucky to touch the floor first with the left foot when getting out of bed. Earlier versions of the expression with the same meaning were: 'You got out of bed the wrong way', and 'You got out of bed with the left leg foremost' (which perhaps explains why today's version, which trips off the tongue rather more easily, developed).

bedlam - chaos - after the London mental institution founded originally as a religious house by Simon Fitzmary in 1247, and converted into the 'Bethlehem Hospital' for lunatics by Henry VIII. After several re-locations - its third site at St George's Fields, Southwark in South Central London is now occupied by the Imperial War Museum - the hospital still exists in name and purpose as 'Bethlem Royal Hospital' in Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, South London, (Kent technically). The original hospital site is underneath Liverpool Street Station, Bishopsgate, in the City of London. I am grateful to S Taylor for his help in clarifying this entry - here is more information about the facinating history of Bethlem Hospital. According to Chambers, Bedlam was first recorded as an alternative name for the hospital in 1418, and as a word meaning chaos or noisy confusion in 1667, evolving naturally from slightly earlier use in 1663 referring to a madhouse or lunatic asylum.

berserk - wild - from Berserker, a Norse warrior, who went into battle 'baer-serk', which according to 1870 Brewer meant 'bare of mail' (chain mail armour). In fact the expression 'baer-saerk' (with 'ae' pronounced as 'a' in the word 'anyhow'), means bear-shirt, which more likely stemmed from the belief that these fierce warriors could transform into animals, especially bears and wolves, or at least carry the spirit of the animal during extreme battle situations. (Thanks Cornelia for this more precise derivation) This derivation is also supported by the Old Icelandic word 'Beserkr', meaning 'bear-shirt'.

(in the) best of both worlds/best of all worlds - ideally (usually impossibly), satisfying or achieving two needs, aims, problems that are difficult or impossible to reconcile (and usually contradictory or mutually exclusive) - this expression represents an unlikely ideal outcome or compromise, and is likely to be based on the words of French philosopher and writer Voltaire, 1694-1778, (incidentally considered by many to have been a principal influence upon enlightened attitudes leading to the French Revolution). Voltaire wrote in 1759: '...If this is best of possible worlds.... all is for the best..' (from chapter 1 of the novel 'Candide', which takes a pessimistic view of human endeavour), followed later in the same novel by ' ...If this is the best of possible worlds, what then are the others?..' ('Candide' chapter 6). Another famous writer (of his time, though less renowned today) American James Branch Cable, 1879-1958, might well have contributed to the popular use of the term when he used it in his novel 'The Silver Stallion' in 1926, when he created a frequently repeated ironically amusing expression in its own right: '...The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true..' It is likely that the more frequent modern usage 'best of both worlds' has developed in normal conversational language simply because the expression is commonly used to highlight a challenge of reconciling two situations or opportunities, rather than many or infinite ones. The fact that the quotes feature in the definitive quotations work, Bartletts Familiar Quotations (first published 1855 and still going) bears out the significance of the references.

in the biblical sense - humorous pointer towards sexual interpretation of a word or phrase, or simply to indicate the original biblical meaning is intended - the reason why the term has become so popular in recent times is almost certainly because of its common and now humorous use alongside the expression 'to know' a person, as a euphemism for sexual intimacy, found in the bible and the Hebrew language (and still in the legal term 'carnal knowledge'). Related no doubt to this, the 1940s expression 'biblical neckline' was a euphemistic sexual slang term for a low neckline (a pun on the 'lo and behold' expression found in the bible). When used in a literal way the expression 'in the/a biblical sense' simply explains that a particular word or term is meant in the way it was used in the bible, instead of the modern meaning, eg; words like oath, swear, deliver, spirit, truth, way, divine, light, father, etc.

of biblical proportions - of a vast, enormous, or epic scale - the expression carries a strong suggestion of disaster, although 'of biblical proportions' can be used to describe anything of a vast or epic scale, and as such is not necessarily a reference only to disasters. It is both a metaphor based on the size of the bible as a book, and more commonly a description by association to many of the (particularly disastrous) epic events described in the bible, for example: famines, droughts, plagues of locusts, wars, mass exodus, destruction of cities and races, chariots of fire, burning bushes, feeding of thousands, parting of seas, etc. The use of the word biblical to mean huge seems first to have been applied first to any book of huge proportions, which was according to Cassells etymology dictionary first recorded in 1387 in a work called Piers Ploughman. It is logical that over the centuries since then that the extension of 'biblical proportions' to describe huge events would have occurred in common speech quite naturally, because the association is so appropriate and obvious.

big cheese - important person - probably from colonial India where Urdu 'chiz', meaning 'thing' was adopted by the British to mean something good.

big girl's blouse - timid man, man or boy who fails to take up a challenge - I started hearing the expression in the 1970s (when I lived in the south-east of England), and my perception at the time was that it had north-England origins - Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle maybe, where men are men, and men who behave like women are, well, big girls' blouses... 'Blouse' has for 300 years or more been English slang for a very unseemly woman, from 'blowze', which was slang for a slovenly woman, prostitute or 'beggars wench' as the OED quaintly puts it. This would suggest that some distortion or confusion led to the expression's development. It's easy to imagine that people confused the earlier meaning with that of the female garment and then given the feminine nature of the garment, attached the derogatory weak 'girly' or 'sissy' meaning. I received this helpful information (thanks N Swan, April 2008) about the expression: "...This was particularly popularised as an expression by the character Nellie Pledge, played by Hylda Baker, in the British TV comedy series 'Nearest and Dearest' in the late 1960s/early-1970s. Hence perhaps the northern associations and 1970s feel. A catchphrase can get into the public vernacular very rapidly - in a very similar vein, I've heard people referring to their friends as a 'Nancy Boy Potter', a name taken directly from the schoolmaster sketch in Rowan Atkinson's mid-80s one-man show...."

big stick - display of power - Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 1900 that he liked the West African expression 'speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far'. Kipling reinforced the expression when he wrote in 1917 that the secret of power '...is not the big stick. It's the liftable stick.'

bins - spectacles, or the eyes - a simple shortening of the word binoculars, first appeared in English c.1930, possibly from the armed forces or London, for which this sort of short-form slang would have been typical.

biscuit - sweet crisp bread-based snack, cookie - from the Latin and French 'bis' (twice) and 'cuit' (baked), because this is how biscuits were originally made, ie., by cooking twice. The term is found also in pottery and ceramic glazing for the same reason.

takes the biscuit - surpasses all expectations, wins - see 'cakewalk' and 'takes the cake'.

bite the bullet - do or decide to do something very difficult - before the development of anesthetics, wounded soldiers would be given a bullet to bite while being operated on, so as not to scream with pain. I am informed additionally (thanks J Finnie, Verias Vincit History Group, Oct 2008) of a different interpretation, paraphrased thus: Rather than bullets, historic accounts tell of men bitting down on leather straps when undergoing primative medical practice. Biting on a round metal (brass) bullet would have been both a potential choking hazard, and extremely hard to do. However in the days of paper cartridges, a soldier in a firing line would have 'bitten off' the bullet, to allow him to pour the gunpowder down the barrel, before spitting the ball (bullet) down after the powder, then ramming the paper in as wadding. This would have left a salty nasty-tasting traces of gun powder in the soldier's mouth. So, 'bite the bullet' in this respect developed as a metaphor referring to doing something both unpleasent and dangerous. If you can offer any further authoritative information about the origins of this phrase please let me know. With hindsight, the traditional surgical metaphor does seem a little shaky.

to the bitter end - to do or experience something awful up to and at the last, experiencing hostility until and at the end - this is a fascinating expression and nothing to do with our normal association of the word 'bitter' with sourness or unpleasantness: 'the bitter end' is another maritime expression, from the metaphor of a rope being payed out until to the 'bitts', which were the posts on the deck of a ship to which ropes were secured. When the rope had been extended to the bitter end there was no more left. Captain Stuart Nicholls MNI contacted me to clarify further: "Bitter end is in fact where the last link of the anchor chain is secured to the vessel's chain locker, traditionally with a weak rope link. Nowadays it is attached through the bulkhead to a sturdy pin. The term 'bitter end' is as it seems to pay out the anchor until the bitter end. Incidentally, the expression 'He's swinging the lead' comes from days before sonar was used to detect under keel depth. A man was placed forward and swung a lead weight with a length of rope. A difficult and tiring task, so seamen would often be seen from aft 'swinging the lead' instead of actually letting go."

bird - woman or girlfriend - now unfortunately a rather unflattering term, but it wasn't always so; until recent times 'bird' was always an endearing term for a girl, derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'brid' which meant 'baby animal', in other words a cute little thing. The origin also gave us the word 'bride'.

for the birds (also strictly for the birds) - useless, unreliable facts, unacceptable or trivial, implying that something is only for weaker, unintelligent or lesser people - American origin according to Kirkpatrick and Schwarz Dictionary of Idioms. Decharne's Dictionary of Hipster Slang actually references a quote from the Hank Janson novel Chicago Chick 1962 - " 'It's crazy man,' I told him, 'Real crazy. Strictly for the birds.' " - but doesn't state whether this was the original usage. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1870) certainly makes no mention of it which suggests it is no earlier than 20th century. The term alludes the small brains of birds, and expressions such as 'bird-brain', as a metaphor for people of limited intelligence.

blackball - to exclude or shun - The traditional club membership voting method (which Brewer says in 1870 is old-fashioned, so the practice was certainly mid-19thC or earlier) was for members to place either a black ball (against) or a red or white ball (for) in a box or bag. The balls were counted and if there were more blacks than reds or whites then the membership application was denied - the prospective new member was 'blackballed'.

In addition (I am informed by one who seems to know...) the blackball expression owes something of its origins to the voting procedures used in the Masonic movement: in a Masonic lodge, apparently, potential new members are (or were) investigated and then their admission to the lodge is voted on by all members present at a meeting. A small wooden box is (or was) circulated and the vote is/was taken in the following manner: one part of the box contains white cubes and a few black balls. To vote for admitting the new person, the voting member transfers a white cube to another section of the box. To vote against, a black ball is inserted. One black ball is enough to exclude the potential member.

See also 'pipped at the post' (the black ball was called a pip - after the pip of a fruit, in turn from earlier similar words which meant the fruit itself, eg pippin, and the Greek, pepe for melon - so pipped became another way or saying blackballed or defeated).

black dog - depression or sullen mood - an expression extremely old origins; the cliché was made famous in recent times by Britain's WWII leader Sir Winston Churchill referring to his own depressions. The 1800s version of the expression was 'a black dog has walked over him/me' to describe being in a state of mental depression (Brewer 1870), which dates back to the myth described by Horace (Roman poet and satirist, aka Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65-8 BC) in which the sight of a black dog with pups was an unlucky omen. Contributing also to the meaning of the cliché, black dogs have have for centuries been fiendish and threatening symbols in the superstitions and folklore of various cultures.

blackguard - slanderer or shabby person - derived according to Francis Grose's dictionary of 1785 from the street boys who attended the London Horse Guards: "A shabby dirty fellow; a term said to be derived from a number of dirty, tattered and roguish boys, who attended at the Horse Guards, and parade in St James's Park, to black the boots and shoes of the soldiers, or to do other dirty offices. These, from their constant attendance about the time of the guard mounting, were nick-named the blackguards." We might assume from this that the aspect of slander, or perhaps careless language, was a reference to the boys' lack of manners and discretion, although Grose did not specifically state this.

black Irish - racially descriptive and/or derogatory term for various groups of Irish people and descendents, or describing people exhibiting behaviour associated with these stereotypes - the expression 'black Irish' has confusing origins, because over centuries the term has assumed different meanings, used in the UK, the US, parts of the West Indies, and parts of Ireland itself, each variation having its own inferences. These various explanations, origins and influences of the 'black Irish' expression, from a range of sources including Cassells, Hobson-Jobson, Oxford, Chambers, historical writings on Irish history, specialist online discussion groups, are as follows:

• 'Black Irish' is believed by many to refer to (and to have originated from) descendents of relationships between surviving shipwrecked and fleeing Spanish sailors, who, attempting to return to Spain after the Spanish Armada failed to invade England, ultimately landed on the north and west coasts of Ireland in the late in 1588, some probably early in 1589. According to legend, several hundred (some versions say between six and seven hundred) Spanish men settled in Ireland, thus enriching the Irish gene pool with certain Iberian characteristics including dark hair, dark eyes and Mediterranean skin type. Irish descendents bearing such an appearance (and presumably anyone else in Ireland with a swarthy complexion from whatever genetic source) would have looked quite different to the fairer Gallic norm, and so attracted the 'black Irish' description. While the legend seems to be a very logical basis for the origin of the 'black Irish' expression and its continuing use, the truth of this romantic version of historical events is not particularly clear. Firstly it is true that a few hundred years ago the word black was far more liberally applied to people with a dark skin than it is today. For example people of India were as far back as the 18th century referred to as black by the ruling British colonials. Even the Jews of Southern India were called Black Jews. It is certainly true also that the Spanish Armada and certain numbers of its sailors had some contact with the Irish, but there seems little reliable data concerning how many Spanish actually settled and fathered 'black Irish' children. The Spanish Armada incidentally was instigated by Phillip II of Spain in defence of the Catholic religion in England following the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and also in response to frustrations relating to piracy and obstruction by British ships against Spanish shipping using the English Channel en route to the trade ports of Holland. The fleet comprised 130 ships, including 22 fighting galleons, and about 40,000 men. The Armada was was led by Medina Sidonia, who had apparently never been to sea before and so spent much of his time being sick. The vast fleet sailed from Spain on July 19th 1588, and after initially avoiding trouble along the south coast of England then, mainly due to the daft and failed tactic of stopping at the French coast to pick up Spanish reinforcement troops and thus opening itself to attack from the English, was very soon forced to flee, up the east coat of England. Since its escape south through the English Channel was cut off by the English navy, the Armada was forced up around Scotland, around the west coast of Ireland, and thence to Spain. Only 67 ships survived the ordeal, and records suggest that 20,000 Spanish sailors failed to return. While reports also indicate that most of the Armada's lost ships were in storms off the Scottish coast in September 1588, other ships were certainly wrecked and damaged in the seas around Ireland. Low on water and food (which apparently it had been since leaving Spain, due to using barrels made from fresh wood, which contaminated their contents), and with disease and illness rife, the now desperate Armada reckoned on support from the Irish, given that both nations were staunchly Catholic. However writings indicate that the higher Irish authorities regarded the Spanish as invaders and took steps to repel or execute any attempting to land from Galway Bay (just below half way up the west coast), where the fleet had harboured. The strong inference also however is that local people were a lot more sympathetic, which begins to give some credence to the legend. Irish writer James Hardiman (1782-1855), in his 'History of the Town and County of Galway' (1820), mentions the Armada's visit in his chapter 'Spanish Armada vessel wrecked in the bay, 1588', in which the following extracts suggest that ordinary people and indeed local officials might well have been quite receptive and sympathetic to the visitors: "....One of the ships which composed this ill-fated fleet was wrecked in the bay of Galway, and upwards of seventy of the crew perished. Several other vessels were lost along the coast; and the Spaniards who escaped the waves were cruelly butchered by order of the lord deputy, Sir William Fitz-Williams, who finding fault with the alleged lenity (mercy) of Sir Richard Bingham, the president to the province, commissioned Robert Fowle, deputy marshal, who dislodged these unfortunate men from their hiding-places, and in a summary manner executed about two hundred of them, which so terrified the remainder, that, though sick and half-famished, they chose sooner to trust to their shattered barks (ships), and the mercy of the waves, than to their more merciless enemies, in consequence of which multitudes of them perished...." The report goes on to describe that local officials were clearly put under pressure to 'deliver' and punish any Spanish who had come ashore, and also suggests that local people were 'murmuring' and 'lamenting' the harsh view taken by their higher authorities: "....Sir Murrough O'Flaherty, William Burke, the blind Abbot, and several others of the principal inhabitants of Mayo and Iar Connaught, came in and submitted; but were put under conditions to give hostages, disperse their forces, deliver up all the Spaniards and Portuguese to whom they had given refuge ......... Fitz-Williams, while he remained in town, caused several of the Spaniards, delivered up on this occasion, to be beheaded near St. Augustin's monastery on the hill, amidst the murmurs and lamentations of the people; and, having thus wreaked his vengeance on these unfortunate men, he departed for Dublin....." At this stage the fleet could well have consisted of 70-80 ships, and given the apparent local support and protection it is entirely conceivable that a few hundred might have managed to come and remain ashore, settle, and produce the offspring which subsequently became known as 'black Irish'.
• 'Black Irish' was according to Cassells also used to describe mixed blood people of the British West Indies Island of Monserrat, being the product of 17th century displaced, deported or emigrated Irish people and African slaves. Some historical versions suggest that the Irish were 'emigrants', although in truth it is more likely that many of these Irish people were Catholic slaves, since the English sent tens of thousands of Irish to be slaves on the Caribbean islands in the 17th century. (The Irish connection also led to Monserrat being called 'Emerald Isle of the Caribbean'. Ireland is of course the original 'Emerald Isle', so called because of its particularly lush and green countryside.)
• The above usage of the 'black Irish' expression is perhaps supported (according to Cassells) because it was also a term given to a former slave who adopted the name of an Irish owner. Whether this was in Ireland, the West Indies, or elsewhere is not clear, and in any event is not likely to have been the main derivation of the expression given other more prevalent factors.
• Cassells also suggests that the term 'black Irish' was used to describe a lower class unsophisticated, perhaps unkempt, Irish immigrant (to the US), but given that there seems to be no reason for this other than by association with an earlier derivation (most likely the Armada gene theory, which would have pre-dated the usage), I would not consider this to be a primary root.
• Cassells is among several sources which give a meaning for 'black Irish' as a person with a terrible temper, and while this might be one of the more common modern usages, it is unlikely to be a derivation root, since there is no reason other than the word black as it relates to mood (as in the expression black dog, meaning depressive state), or as Brewer in 1870 stated, 'black in the face' specifically meant extremely angry. But there is not a logical or clear link to the Irish. This usage is more likely to be a misunderstanding and misuse of an earlier meaning of the 'black Irish' expression, based on black meaning angry.
• The term 'black Irish' does seem to have been adopted by some sections of the Irish Catholic community as a derogatory description for the Irish Protestants, whom were regarded and reviled as invaders and supporters of English tyranny, beginning in the 16th century and coming into full effect mid-17th century. Black in this pejorative (insulting) sense refers to the Protestant religious and political beliefs, in just the same way as the word black has been use for centuries around the world (largely because of its association with darkness, night, death, evil, etc) to describe many things believed to be, or represented as, negative, bad, or threatening, for example: black death, black magic, black dog (a depression or bad mood), blackmail, blacklist, blackball, black market, black economy, etc. We still see evidence of this instinctive usage in today's language constructions such as black Friday, (or Tuesday, Wednesday..) to describe disasters and economic downturns, etc. In my view the expression was already in use by this time, and like the usage for an angry person, came to be used for this meaning mainly through misunderstanding rather than by direct derivation.

In summary, despite there being no evidence in print, there seems to me to be sufficient historical evidence as to the validity of the Armada theory as being the main derivation and that all other usages are related to this primary root. I say this because: there is truth in the history; it is likely that many Spanish came ashore and settled after the Armada debacle, and people of swarthy appearance were certainly called black. Also the Armada theory almost certainly predates the other other possible derivations. From this point the stories and legends about the Armada and the 'black Irish' descendents would have provided ample fuel for the expression to become established and grow. Following this, the many the other usages, whether misunderstandings of the true origin and meaning (ie., corruptions), or based on their own logic, would have further consolidated and contributed to the use of the expression.

blackmail - demand money with threat - 'mail' from Saxon 'mal' meaning 'rent', also from 'maille', an old French coin; 'black' is from the Gaelic, to cherish or protect; the term 'blackmail' was first used to describe an early form of protection money, paid in the form of rent, to protect property against plunder by vagabonds.

black market - illegal trade in (usually) consumer goods, typically arising in times of shortages and also relating to the smuggling and informal cash-sales of goods to avoid tax - there is no reliable support for the story which claims that the black market term can be traced to Charleston slaves of the 1700s. Proper reference books state that the black market term was first recorded in 1931, which suggests that usage was perhaps a few years prior, but not 100 or 200 hundred years prior. Given the research which goes into the compilation of proper reference books and dictionaries, underpinned by the opportunity for submitted evidence and corrections over decades, its is doubtful that the term black market originated from any story or a particular event. If there were any such evidence it would have found its way into the reference books a long time ago. The expression black market is simply the logical use of the word black to describe something illegal, probably popularised by newspapers or other commentators. The word black is a natural choice and readily understood for describing anything negative, theatening or illicit, and has been used, in some cases for centuries, to describe all sorts of unapproved, sinister or illegal things - e.g., black art (secret or unknown method), black humour/humor or black joke (tasteless joke), blacklist and blackball (reject or exclude), blackmail (demand with threats), blackleg (strike-breaker), black magic (witchcraft), black mark (a negative assessment), black spot (dangerous road section), black label (illicit licquor), black Irish (Mediterranean-Irish mixed-race, amongst other meanings), black dog (temper or depression), black economy (activities of the illegal unregulated untaxed economy), black house (prison or illegal workhouse), black hole (lost or hidden information, amongst other meanings), black hat (villain), blackguard (slanderer or shabby person). The first use and popularity of the black market term probably reflect the first time in Western history that consumer markets were tightly regulated and undermined on a very wide and common scale, in the often austere first half of the 1900s, during and between the world wars of 1914-18 and (more so in) 1939-45. Interestingly the black market expression has direct literal equivalents in German (scharz-markt), French (marché noir), Italian (mercato nero) and Spanish (mercado negra) - and probably other languages too - if you know or can suggest where the expression first appeared please let me know.

blarney - persuasive but empty words - from the verbal procrastination tactics of Cormack MacCarthy, 1602, in holding the castle of Blarney in Ireland, near Cork, despite agreeing to hand it to the English as part of the surrender terms.

kiss the blarney stone - have great persuasive ability - the blarney stone, situated in the north corner of Blarney castle, bears the inscription 'Cormac Mac Carthy fortis me fieri fecit'; legend has it that whoever kisses the blarney stone will enjoy the same ability as MacCarthy.

bless you/god bless you - customary expression said to someone after sneezing - while there are variations around the theme, the main origin is that sneezing was believed in medieval times to be associated with vulnerability to evil, notably that sneezing expelled a person's soul, thus enabling an evil spirit - or specifically the devil - to steal the soul or to enter the body and take possession of it. Another interpretation (thanks R Styx), and conceivably a belief once held by some, is that sneezing expelled evil spirits from a person's body. A contributory factor was the association of sneezing with the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) which ravaged England and particularly London in the 14th and 17th centuries. In more recent times the expression has been related (ack D Slater) to the myth that sneezing causes the heart to stop beating, further reinforcing the Bless You custom as a protective superstition.

blighty - england (esp when viewed by an Englishman overseas) - from foreign service in colonial India, the Hindu word 'bilayati' meant 'foreign' or 'European'.

blimey - mild expletive - from '(God) blind me!' (See also 'life of Riley' below).

bloke - man, chap, fellow - various separate roots in Shelta or Romany gypsy, and also Hindustani, 'loke', and Dutch, 'blok'. Perhaps also influenced by African and African-American 'outjie', leading to okey (without the dokey), meaning little man.

blood is thicker than water - family loyalties are greater than those between friends - many believe the origins of this expression were actually based on the opposite of today's meaning of the phrase, and there there would seem to be some truth to the idea that blood friendship rituals and biblical/Arabic roots predated the modern development and interpretation of the phrase. Various references have been cited in Arabic and Biblical writings to suggest that it was originally based on Middle- and Far-Eastern customs, in which blood rituals symbolised bonds that were stronger than family ones. 'The blood of the covenant is stronger than the water of the womb' is an explanation quoted by some commentators. However the expression has certainly been in use for hundreds of years with its modern interpretation - ie., that blood is stronger than water (relatives being connected by blood, compared to the comparative weakness of water, symbolising non-family). In this sense, the metaphor is such an obvious one that it is likely to have evolved separately from the supposed 'blood brothers' meaning, with slightly different variations from different societies, over the many hundreds of years that the expression has been in use.

bloody - offensive expletive adjective, as in 'bloody hell', or 'bloody nuisance' - the origins of bloody in the oath sense are open to some interpretation. Bloody seems to have acquired the unacceptable 'swearing' sense later than when first used as a literal description (bloody battle, bloody body, bloody death, bloody assizes, etc) or as a general expression of extreme related to the older associations of the blood emotions or feelings in the four temperaments or humours, which were very significant centuries ago in understanding the human condition and mood, etc. The modern expression bloody-minded still carries this sense, which connects with the qualities of the blood temperament within the four humours concept. The mild oath ruddy is a very closely linked alternative to bloody, again alluding to the red-faced characteristics within the four humours. Oxford Word Histories confirms bloody became virtually unprintable around the mid-1700s, prior to which it was not an offensive term even when used in a non-literal sense (i.e., not describing blood), and that this offensive aspect was assumed by association to religion, perhaps including the (false) belief that the word itself was derived from the oath 'By our Lady', which is touched on below. In terms of a major source or influence on the expression's development, Oxford agrees largely with Brewer's 1870 dictionary of phrase and fable, which explains that the use of the word 'bloody' in the expletive sense ".....arose from associating folly or drunkenness, etc., with what are (were) called 'Bloods', or aristocratic rowdies...." Brewer explains also that this usage is in the same vein as the expression 'drunk as a lord', (a lord being a titled aristocrat in British society). Rowdy aristocrats were called 'Bloods' after the term for a thoroughbred horse, a 'blood-horse' (as in today's 'bloodstock' term, meaning thoroughbred horses). Clearly, the blood-horse metaphor captures both the aristocratic and unpredictable or wild elements of this meaning. The use of blood in this 'aristocratic' sense would have been reinforced by other similar metaphors: 'blood' was and still is a term used also to refer to family descent, and appears in many other lineage-related expressions, such as 'blood is thicker than water' (people are more loyal to their family members than to other people) and 'blue blood' (royalty or aristocratic people - an expression coming into England from France where 'sang blue' means of high aristocratic descent, the notion originating in Spain when it was believed that pre-Moorish old Spanish families had blue blood whereas the common people's blood was black. The blue blood imagery would have been strengthened throughout Western society by the idea of aristocratic people having paler skin, which therefore made their veins and blood appear more blue than normal people's.) The modern expression 'bloody' therefore derives partly from an old expression of unpredictable or drunken behaviour, dating back to the late 1600s (Oxford dates this not Brewer specifically), but also since those times people have inferred a religious/Christ/crucifixion connection, which would have stigmatised the expression and added the taboo and blasphemy factor. 'Bloody' was regarded as quite a serious oath up until the 1980s, but now it's rare to find anyone who'd be truly offended to hear it being used. It is commonly suggested (thanks B Bunker, J Davis) that 'bloody' is a corruption of a suggested oath, 'By our Lady', which could have contributed to the offensive perception of the expression, although I believe would not have been its origin as an expletive per se. Whatever, extending this point (thanks A Sobot), the expression 'By our Lord' might similarly have been retrospectively linked, or distorted to add to the 'bloody' mix.

blue peter - the children's TV show - the name of the flag hoisted on a ship before it was about to sail, primarily to give notice to the town that anyone owed money should claim it before the ship leaves, also to warn crew and passengers to get on board. The flag is a blue rectangle with a solid white rectangle in the middle; 'peter' is from the French, 'partir' meaning 'to leave'. Additionally, (ack G Jackson), the blue and white 'blue peter' flag is a standard nautical signal flag which stands for the letter 'P'. The letter 'P' is associated with the word 'peter' in many phonetic alphabets, including those of the English and American military, and it is possible that this phonetic language association was influenced by the French 'partir' root. Phonetic alphabet details.

board of directors - often reduced simply to 'the board' - board commonly meant table in the late middle-ages, ultimately from Saxon, 'bord' meaning table and also meant shield, which would have amounted to the same thing (as a table), since this was long before the choices offered by IKEA and MFI, etc. This table meaning of board is how we got the word boardroom too, and the popular early 1900s piece of furniture called a sideboard. See also the expression 'sweep the board', which also refers to the table meaning of board.

bob's your uncle - ironic expression of something easily done - like: there you have it, as if by magic - Cassells cites AJ Langguth's work Saki of 1981 in suggesting that the expression arose after Conservative Prime Minister Robert (Bob) Cecil appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1900, which was apparently surprising and unpopular. In this sense the expression also carried a hint of sarcastic envy or resentment, rather like it's who you know not what you know that gets results, or 'easy when you know how'. Since then the meaning has become acknowledging, announcing or explaining a result or outcome that is achieved more easily than might be imagined.

bobby - policeman - after Sir Robert Peel, who introduced the first police force, into London c.1830; they were earlier known as 'peelers'.

bolt from the blue - sudden shock or surprise - see 'thunderbolt'.

throw me a bone/throw a bone/throw someone a bone/toss me a bone - give me/someone at least a tiny piece of encouragement, reaction, response, help, (especially when seeking a positive response from others in authority or command). The sense is in giving someone a small concession begrudgingly, as a token, or out of sympathy or pity. The giver (an individual or a group) is in a position of dominance or authority, and the recipient (of the bone) is seeking help, approval, agreement, or some other positive response. It is a simple metaphor based on the idea of throwing a hungry dog a bone to chew on (a small concession) instead of some meat (which the dog would prefer). The metaphor also alludes to the sense that a bone provides temporary satisfaction and distraction, and so is a tactical or stalling concession, and better than nothing. 'Throw me a bone' or 'throw a bone' seems (in English) to be mainly an American expression, although it might well appear in and originate from another language/culture in the US. It is not widely used in the UK and it is not in any of my reference dictionaries, which suggests that it is quite recent - probably from the end of the 20th century. According to various online discussions about this expression it is apparently featured in a film, as the line, "Throw me a bone down here...," as if the person is pleading for just a small concession. Apparently (ack Matthew Stone) the film was first Austin Powers movie ('Austin Powers:International Man of Mystery'), from a scene in which Dr Evil is trying to think of schemes, but because he has been frozen for years, his ideas have either already happened or are no longer relevant (and so attract little enthusiasm, which fits the expression's meaning very well). The expression could certainly have been in use before it appeared in the film, and my hunch (just a hunch) is that it originated in a language and culture other than English/American, not least because the expression's seemingly recent appearance in English seems at odds with the metaphor, which although recognisable is no longer a popular image in Western culture, whose dogs are generally well-fed and whose owners are more likely to throw biscuits than bones. I am further informed (ack P Nix) "...It most certainly appeared prior to the Austin Powers movies since the usage of it in the movie was intended to be a humorous use of the already commonly used expression. It is also commonly used in the United States as 'Toss me a bone.' " Subsequently I'm informed (thanks Jaimi McEntire) that many people mistakenly believe that dogs eat bones and prefer them to meat, for whom the expression would have a more general meaning of asking for something they want or need (without the allusion to a minor concession), and that the expression was in use in the 1970s in the USA.

If you know anything about the origins of "throw me a bone" - especially the expression occurring in a language other than English, please tell me.

booby - fool or idiot - according to Chambers/Cassells, booby has meant a stupid person, idiot, fool or a derogatory term for a peasant since 1600 (first recorded), probably derived from Spanish and Portuguese bobo of similar meaning, similar to French baube, a stammerer, all from Latin balbus meaning stammering or inarticulate, from which root we also have babble. The sense of booby meaning fool extended later to terms like booby-trap and booby-hatch (lunatic asylum), and also to the verb form of boob, meaning to make a mistake or blunder (i.e., act like a fool). The US also later (early 20th C) adapted the word boob to mean a fool. The ultimate origins can be seen in the early development of European and Asian languages, many of which had similar words meaning babble or stammer, based on the repetitive 'ba' sound naturally heard or used to represent the audible effect or impression of a stammerer or a fool. It is probable that this basic 'baba' sound-word association also produced the words babe and baby, and similar variations in other languages. The reference to female breasts (boob, boobs, boob-tube, etc) is much more recent (1960s - boob tube was 1970s) although these derive from the similar term bubby and bubbies (Partridge amusing notes that bubby is 'rare in the singular...'), which appeared in the late 1600s, probably derived from the word bub, both noun and verb for drink, in turn probably from Latin bibire, perhaps reinforced by allusion to the word bubble, and the aforementioned 'baba' sound associated with babies. The appeal of the word boob/boobs highlights some interesting aspects of how certain slang and language develop and become popular: notably the look and sound and 'feel' of the word is somehow appropriate for the meaning, and is also a pleasing and light-hearted euphemism for less socially comfortable words, particularly used when referring to body bits and functions. (My thanks to John L for raising the question of the booby initially seeking clarification of its meaning in the Gilbert and Sullivan line from Trial by Jury, when the judge sings "I'd a frock-tailed coat of a beautiful blue, and brief that I bought for a booby..." If anyone knows exactly what G&S meant by this please tell me.)

boss - manager - while there are myths suggesting origins from a certain Mr Boss, the real derivation is from the Dutch 'baas', meaning master, which was adopted into the US language from Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The word also appeared early in South African English from Afrikaans - more proof of Dutch origins.

the bottom line - the most important aspect or point - in financial accounting the bottom line on the profit and loss sheet shows the profit or loss.

bottoms up - drinking expression, rather like cheers, good health, or skol - the 'bottoms up' expression origins are from the British historical press-ganging of unwary drinkers in dockside pubs into the armed services (mainly the navy) in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Men who 'took the King's shilling' were deemed to have contracted to serve in the armed forces, and this practice of offering the shilling inducement led to the use of the technique in rather less honest ways, notably by the navy press-gangs who would prey on drunks and unsuspecting drinkers close to port. Unscrupulous press-gangers would drop a shilling into a drinker's pint of ale, (which was then in a pewter or similar non-transparent vessel), and if the coin was undetected until the ale was consumed the press-gangers would claim that the payment had been accepted, whereupon the poor victim would be dragged away to spend years at sea. Pubs and drinkers became aware of this practice and the custom of drinking from glass-bottom tankards began. The 'bottoms up' expression then naturally referred to checking for the King's shilling at the bottom of the tankard. (Ack J Burbedge)

boxing day - the day after Christmas - from the custom in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of servants receiving gratuities from their masters, collected in boxes in Christmas day, sometimes in churches, and distributed the day after.

brass monkeys/brass monkeys weather/cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey - very cold weather - the singular 'monkey' is common also in these expressions. This expression is a wonderful example of how certain expressions origins inevitably evolve, without needing necessarily any particular origin. There might be one of course, but it's very well buried if there is, and personally I think the roots of the saying are entirely logical, despite there being no officially known source anywhere. Partridge for instance can offer only that brass monkey in this sense was first recorded in the 1920s with possible Australian origins. Cassells says late 1800s and possible US origins. The OED is no more helpful either in suggesting the ultimate source. Allen's English Phrases is more revealing in citing an 1835 source (unfortunately not named): "He was told to be silent, in a tone of voice which set me shaking like a monkey in frosty weather..." Allen also mentions other similar references: 'talk the tail off a brass monkey', 'have the gall of a brass monkey', and 'hot enough to melt the nose off a brass monkey'. In fact the expression most likely evolved from another early version 'Cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey', which apparently is first recorded in print in Charles A Abbey's book Before the Mast in the Clippers, around 1860, which featured the author's diaries from his time aboard American clippers (fast merchant sailing ships) from 1856-60. The switch from tail to balls at some stage probably around the turn of the 1900s proved irresistible to people, for completely understandable reasons: it's much funnier, much more illustrative of bitter cold, and the alliteration (repeating) of the B sound is poetically much more pleasing. The notion of a brass monkey would have appealed on many levels: monkeys have long been associated with powerful imagery (three wise monkeys - see no evil, etc) and the word is incorporated within various popular terminology (monkey wrench, monkey puzzle, monkey suit, etc). And aside from the allusion to brass monkey ornaments, brass would have been the metal of choice because it was traditionally associated with strength and resilience (more so than copper or tin for instance); also brass is also very much more phonetically enjoyable than iron, steel or bronze. It simply sounds good when spoken. Zinc and platinum are complete non-starters obviously. So it had to be brass. The choice of monkey - as opposed to any other creature - is also somehow inevitable given a bit of logical thought. Here goes... Certain iconic animals with good tails can be discounted immediately for reasons of lacking euphonic quality (meaning a pleasing sound when spoken); for example, brass horse, brass mouse, brass rat, brass scorpion, brass crocodile and brass ass just don't roll off the tongue well enough. No good either would have been any creatures not possessing a suitably impressive and symbolic tail, which interestingly would effectively have ruled out virtually all the major animal images like cow, elephant, pig, bear, dog, rabbit, lion, tiger, and most of the B-list like rhino, giraffe, deer, not to mention C-listers like hamster, badger, tortoise, all birds, all fish and all insects. We can also forget the well-endowed lemurs, platypii, and chameleons for reasons of obscurity: a metaphor must be reasonably universal to become popular. Which pretty well leaves just a cat and a monkey, and who on earth has ever seen a brass cat? It's just not a notion that conveys anything at all. So it kind of just had to be a monkey because nothing else would have worked. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it unless anyone has a better idea. This is the way that a lot of expressions become established and hugely popular - they just are right in terms of sound and imagery, and often it's that simple. Incidentally a popular but entirely mythical theory for the 'freeze the balls off a brass monkey' version suggests a wonderfully convoluted derivation from the Napoleonic Wars and the British Navy's Continental Blockade of incoming French supplies. The story goes that where the British warships found themselves in northerly frozen waters the cannonballs contracted (shrank in size due to cold) more than their brass receptacle (supposedly called the 'monkey') and fell onto the deck. Or so legend has it. Unfortunately there was never a brass receptacle for cannonballs called a monkey. Ships did actually have a 'monkey rail' (just above the quarter rail, wherever that was) but this was not related to cannonballs at all, and while there was at one time a cannon called a monkey, according to Longridge's The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships, cannonballs were actually stored on the gun deck on wooden boards with holes cut in them, called short garlands, not monkeys. What we see here is an example of a mythical origin actually supporting the popularity of the expression it claims to have spawned, because it becomes part of folklore and urban story-telling, so in a way it helps promote the expression, but it certainly isn't the root of it. To understand the root, very commonly we need simply to understand how language works, and then it all makes sense. (I am grateful for A Zambonini's help in prompting and compiling this entry.)

brass neck/brass-neck/brass necked - boldness or impudence/audacious, rude, 'cheeky' - brass neck and brass necked are combinations of two metaphorically used words, brass and neck, each separately meaning impudence/impudent, audacity/audacious. Neck was a northern English 19th slang century expression (some sources suggest with origins in Australia) meaning audacity or boldness - logically referring to a whole range of courage and risk metaphors involving the word neck, and particularly with allusions to hanging, decapitation, wringing (of a chicken's neck) - 'getting it in the neck', 'sticking your neck out', and generally the idea of exposing or extending one's neck in a figurative display of intentional or foolhardy personal risk. As regards brass, Brewer 1870 lists 'brass' as meaning impudence. The modern OED meanings include effrontery (shameless insolence). Brassy means pretentious or impudent. Brass is also an old (19thC) word for a prostitute. Some of these meanings relate to brass being a cheap imitation of gold. Some of the meanings also relate to brass being a very hard and resilient material. Phonetically there is also a similarity with brash, which has similar meanings - rude, vulgarly self-assertive (probably derived from rash, which again has similar meanings, although with less suggestion of intent, more recklessness). At some stage during the 20th century brass and neck were combined to form brass neck and brass necked. Many sources identify the hyphenated brass-neck as a distinctly military expression (same impudence and boldness meanings), again 20th century, and from the same root words and meanings, although brass as a slang word in the military has other old meanings and associations, eg, top brass and brass hat, both referring to officers (because of their uniform adornments), which would have increased the appeal and usage of the brass-neck expression in military circles. (sources OED, Brewer, Cassells, Partridge)

brassic (mistaken pronunciation of boracic) - broke, having no money - from 'boracic lint' see cockney rhyming slang.

break a leg - expression wishing good luck (particularly) to an actor about to take the stage - there are different theories of origins and probably collective influences contributing to the popularity of this expression. Most dramatically, the broken leg suffered by assassin John Wilkes Booth. Booth, an actor, assassinated President Lincoln's on 14 April 1865, at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC and broke his leg while making his escape, reportedly while jumping from Lincoln's box onto the stage. Later research apparently suggests the broken leg was suffered later in his escape, but the story became firmly embedded in public and thesbian memory, and its clear connections with the expression are almost irresistible, especially given that Booth was considered to have been daringly lucky in initially escaping from the theatre. His luck ran out though as he was shot and killed resisting capture twelve days later. Etymologist Michael Sheehan is among those who suggests the possible Booth source, although he cites and prefers Eric Partridge's suggestion that the saying derives from "...immigrating Yiddish actors right after World War I. The phrase in the German theatre was Hals und Beinbruch, neck and leg break..." Wentworth & Flexnor's American Slang Dictionary refers to a similar German expression 'Hals und Bein brechen', break your neck and leg, and in similar vein to the Italian expression 'in bocca al lupo', which is puzzling since this seems to be something to do with a wolf (explained below). The main point is that Wentworth & Flexnor echo Sheehan's and others' views that the ironic expression is found in similar forms in other languages. Interestingly according to Cassells, break a leg also means 'to be arrested' in US slang (first recorded from 1900), and 'to hurry' (from 1910), which again seems to fit with the JW Booth story. Bear in mind that actual usage can predate first recorded use by many years. Cassells reminds us that theatrical superstition discourages the use of the phrase 'good luck', which is why the coded alternative was so readily adopted in the theatre. Cassells inserts a hyphen and expands the meaning of the German phrase, 'Hals-und Beinbruch', to 'may you break your neck and leg', which amusingly (to me) and utterly irrelevantly, seems altogether more sinister. Such are the delights of translation. Incidentally my version of Partridge's dictionary also suggests break a leg, extending to 'break a leg above the knee', has been an English expression since 1670 (first recorded) meaning "...to give birth to a bastard..." (helpfully adding 'low colloquial'). "She hath broken her leg above the knee" is given as an example of usage. Broken-legged also referred to one who had been seduced. Such are the delights of early English vulgar slang.. As a footnote (pun intended) to the seemingly natural metaphor and relationship between luck and leg-breaking is the wonderful quote penned by George Santayana (Spanish-Amercian literary philosopher, 1863-1952) in his work Character and Opinion in the United States (1920): "All his life [the American] jumps into the train after it has started and jumps out before it has stopped; and he never once gets left behind, or breaks a leg." It's the pioneer genes I say. On a different track, I am informed, which I can neither confirm nor deny (thanks Steve Fletcher, Nov 2007): "...In older theatres the device used to raise the curtain was a winch with long arms called 'legs'. If the performance was very successful the legmen might have to raise the curtain so many times they might - 'break a leg'..." I also received this helpful information (thanks J Adams, Jan 2008): "...Anyone who has spent time on stage in the theater [US spelling] knows how jealous other players can be of someone whom the audience is rapt with. By way of the back-handed compliment intended to undermine the confidence of an upcoming star, an envious competitor might gush appreciation at just how great one is and with work how much greater one will be. The young star goes out flush with flattery and, preoccupied with his future fame, promptly falls on his proverbial face. So, one learns in time to be suspicious of disingenuous praise. On the other hand, someone genuinely wishing you well will say 'Break a leg'. This mocks the false flattery and acknowledges that that stage can be perilous to someone with their head in the clouds. (If not paying attention one could literally break a leg by falling into the pit.) The reverse psychology helps one to 'stay grounded' so to speak. The Italian saying appears to be translatable to 'Into the wolf's mouth,' which, to me is a reference to the insatiable appetite of the audience for diversion and novelty. And if you don't satisfy them, they will 'eat you alive'... " In the same vein (thanks A Zambonini): "...In Italian it is often actually considered bad luck to wish someone good luck ('Buona Fortuna'), especially before an exam, performance or something of the kind. Italians instead use the expression 'In bocca al lupo', which literally means 'Into the wolf's mouth'..." And this (thanks J Yuenger, Jan 2008), which again I can neither confirm nor deny: "...I see you had a question on 'Break a leg,' and as a theatre person... I had always heard of break a leg as in 'bend a knee,' apparently a military term. The idea being that if you tell an actor to break a leg, it is the same as telling him to deliver a performance worthy of a bow. As a common theme I've seen running through stage superstitions, actors need to be constantly reminded that they need to do work in order to make their performances the best. Thus, if you wished an actor good luck, they would stop trying as hard at the show, because luck was on their side..." Further to the possible Germanic influence on the expression, it is suggested (thanks C Stahl, March 2008): "...I am German, and we indeed have the saying 'Hals-und Beinbruch' which roughly means 'break a neck and leg'. The origin of that saying is not proven but widely believed to originate from the Jewish 'hazloche un broche' which means 'luck and blessing', and itself derives from the Hebrew 'hazlacha we bracha', with the same meaning. For Germans failing to understand 'hazloch un broche', this sounds similar to 'hals und bruch' meaning 'neck and break'. Given that this has no real meaning, a natural interpretation would be 'hals und beinbruch', especially since 'bein' did not only mean 'leg', but also was used for 'bones' in general, giving the possible translation of 'break your neck and bones'. That it was considered back luck to wish for what you really want ('Dont jinx it!') helped the saying to spread. Such ironic wishes - 'anti-jinxes' - appear in most languages - trying to jinx the things we seek to avoid. In Germany 'Hals-und Beinbruch' is commonly used when people go skiing. Fishermen use a variation: 'Mast-und Schotbruch', which means (on a boat) 'break the the main poles' (which hold the sails). The German 'break' within 'Hals-und Beinbruch' it is not an active verb, like in the English 'break a leg', but instead a wish for the break to happen. The German 'Hals- und Beinbruch' most likely predates the English 'break a leg', and the English is probably a translation of the German..."

(Thanks to Neale for the initial question. If anyone can offer any more about Break a Leg please let me know.)

give me a break/give him a break - make allowance, tolerate, overlook a mistake - 'Give me/him a break' is an interesting expression, since it combines the sense of two specific figurative meanings of the word break - first the sense of respite and relaxation, and second the sense of luck or advantage. Partridge/OED suggests the luck aspect probably derives from billiards (and logically extending to snooker), in which the first shot breaks the initial formation of the balls and leaves either opportunity or difficulty for the opponent. This sense is supported by the break meaning respite or relaxation, as in tea-break. Both senses seem to have developed during the 19th century. Earliest usage of break meaning luck was predominantly USA, first recorded in 1827 according to Partridge.

buckshee/buckshees - (anything) free, or a tip or gratuity - buckshee is not cockney rhyming slang; instead the English usage origins of buckshee (also buckshees, although this can still refer to a single free entity) are firmly rooted in Middle-Eastern and Anglo-Indian language, dating back to the mid-1700s, and more widely adopted and popularised by the British army operating in the Middle-Eastern and Indian territories in the first and second world wars, who developed various meanings around the main interpretation. The root word is bakh'sheesh in Arabic, notably from what was Persia (now Iran), with variations in Urdu and Turkish, meaning a gift or a present. The early British usage of the expression would have been bakshee, backshee, but by the 1900s this had evolved into the modern buckshee/buckshees/buckshish. The modern form is buckshee/buckshees, referring to anything free, with other associated old slang meanings, mostly relating to army use, including: a light wound; a paymaster (also 'buckshee king'), and a greedy soldier at mealtimes. I am grateful for the following note from Huw Thomas in the Middle East: "...The word 'buckshee' was brought back by the British Eighth Army lads from North Africa in the Second World War. It comes from the Arabic word bakh'sheesh, meaning 'free' or 'gift'. In Arabic today, it refers to the tip given to a restaurant waiter." (ack Huw Thomas)

pass the buck/passing the buck - delegate or avoid responsibility by passing a problem or blame to another person - this is commonly thought to derive from the practice and terminology of American poker players of the nineteenth century, who would supposedly pass a piece of buckshot or a buckhorn knife from player to player to signify whose responsibility it was to deal the cards or to be responsible for the pot or bank. The precise reference to buck (a male deer) in this sense - buckshot, buckknife, or some other buckhorn, buckskin or other buck-related item - is not proven and remains open to debate, and could be a false trail. While 'pass the buck' seems generally accepted (among the main dictionaries and references) as card-playing terminology for passing the deal or pot, and is generally accepted as the metaphorical origin of the modern expression meaning to pass the problem or responsibility, uncertainty remains as to what exactly the buck was. No-one knows for sure. To complicate matters further, buck and bucking are words used in card-playing quite aside from the 'pass the buck' expression referring to dealing. For example - an extract from the wonderful Pictorial History of the Wild West by Horan and Sann, published in 1954, includes the following reference to Wild Bill Hickock: "... He didn't wear down the two-inch heels of his sixty-dollar boots patrolling the streets to make law 'n order stick. He spent most of his time bucking the cards in the saloons..." In this extract the word buck does not relate to a physical item associated with the buck (male deer) creature. This reference is simply to the word buck meaning rear up or behave in a challenging way, resisting, going up against, challenging, taking on, etc., as in a bucking horse, and found in other expressions such as bucking the system and bucking the trend. So while we can be fairly sure that the card-playing terminology 'pass the buck' is the source of the modern saying, we cannot be certain of what exactly the buck was. (My thanks to S Karl for prompting the development of this explanation.)

the buck stops here - acceptance of ultimate responsibility - this extends the meaning of the above 'passing the buck' expression. I am grateful (ack K Eshpeter) for the following contributed explanation: "It wasn't until the 1940s when Harry Truman became president that the expression took on an expanded meeting. Truman was a man of the people and saw the office of president of the US as a foreboding responsibility for which he had ultimate accountability. He kept a sign on his desk in the Oval Office to remind him of this and it is where the expression 'The Buck Stops Here' originated."

bugger - insult or expletive - expletives and oaths like bugger are generally based on taboo subjects, typically sexual, and typically sensitive in religious and 'respectable' circles. Most people will know that bugger is an old word - it's actually as old as the 12th century in English - and that it refers to anal intercourse. A bugger is a person who does it. Bugger is the verb to do it. Buggery is the old word describing the act (or offence, as was, and remains, in certain circumstances and parts of the world). The commonly unmentionable aspect of the meaning (see Freud's psychosexual theory as to why bottoms and pooh are so emotionally sensitive for many people) caused the word to be developed, and for it to thrive as an oath. It's all about fear, denial and guilt. What's more surprising about the word bugger is where it comes from: Bugger is from Old French (end of the first millennium, around 1000AD), when the word was bougre, which then referred to a sodomite and a heretic, from the Medieval Latin word Bulgarus, which meant Bulgarian, based on the reputation of a sect of Bulgarian heretics, which was alleged and believed (no doubt by their critics and opponents) to indulge in homosexual practices. It is fascinating that a modern word like bugger, which has now become quite a mild and acceptable oath, contains so much richness of social and psychological history. In terms of fears and human hang-ups it's got the lot - religious, ethnic, sexual, social - all in one little word. See also sod, whose usage and origins are related.

bulls and bears, bull markets and bear markets (stock exchange and financial markets terminology) - generally: optimists and pessimists, or more specifically: bulls (stock traders) and bull markets refer to upward price trends and tactics; bears and bear markets refer to downward price trends and tactics - some say that the expressions relate to bull and bear fighting, a bloodsport in parts of Europe in past times, and the image of bulls goring with their horns in upward motion, whereas bears tend to swipe in a downward motion. This metaphor may certainly have helped to reinforce the expression, but is unlike to have been the origin. More probable is the derivation suggested by Brewer in 1870: that first, bears became synonymous with reducing prices, notably the practice of short selling, ie., selling shares yet not owned, in the expectation that the stock value would drop before settlement date, enabling the 'bear' speculator to profit from the difference. This terminology, Brewer suggests (referring to Dr Warton's view on the origin) came from the prior expression, 'selling the skin before you have caught the bear'. This proverb was applied to speculators in the South Sea Bubble scheme, c. 1720, (see 'gone south') and alludes to the risky 'forward selling' practice of bear trappers. Brewer quotes an extract written by Waller, from 'Battle Of The Summer Islands': "....So was the huntsman by the bear oppressed, whose hide he sold before he caught the beast..." At some stage after the bear term was established, the bull, already having various associations with the bear in folklore and imagery, became the natural term to be paired with the bear to denote the opposite trend or activity, ie buying stock in expectation of a price rise. The bull and bear expressions have been in use since at least as far back as 1785; according to financial writer Don Luskin, reference and explanation of bull and bear meanings appears in the book Every Man His Own Broker, or, A Guide to Exchange Alley, by Thomas Mortimer. (Luskin says his 10th edition copy of the book was printed in 1785. Other references: David W. Olson, Jon Orwant, Chris Lott, and 'The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Markets' by Wurman, Siegel, and Morris, 1990.)

get/give the bum's rush - to be ejected or eject someone from premises, typically by a bouncer or security staff, and can also apply to the firm rejection of ideas or suggestions or involvement or employment of a person in relation to a project or group or relationship - sources (Chambers, RL Chapman US Slang) place the first recorded origins around 1920s in the US, in which the bum would have been a tramp or a drunkard, and the rush referred to the action and effect of forcible ejection from a bar or salooon premises into the street, typically by a bar-tender. The bum refers both to bum meaning tramp, and also to the means of ejection, i.e., by the seat of the pants, with another hand grasping the neck of the jacket. Bum also alludes to a kick up the backside, being another method of propulsion and ejection in such circumstances. Less easy to understand is the use of the word rush, until we learn that the earlier meaning of the word rush was to drive back and repel, also to charge, as in Anglo-French russher, and Old French russer, the flavour of which could easily have been retained in the early American-English use of the word.

takes the bun - surpasses all expectations, wins - see 'cakewalk' and 'takes the cake'.

bury the hatchet - agree to stop arguing or feuding - although pre-dated by a British version now much less popular, 'bury the hatchet' is from the native American Indian custom, as required by their spirit gods, of burying all weapons out of sight while smoking the peace pipe. 'Bury the hatchet' came into use first in the US in the late 1700s and was soon adopted in Britain, where according to Partridge it was pre-dated (as early as the 1300s) by the earlier expression 'hang up the hatchet'. 'Bury the hatchet' perhaps not surpisingly became much more popular than the less dramatic Britsh version. Hatchet is a very old word, meaning axe, and probaby derived from Old German happa for scythe or sickle. The hatchet as an image would have been a natural representation of a commoner's weapon in the middle ages, and it's fascinating that the US and British expressions seem to have arisen quite independently of each other in two entirely different cultures. I am grateful Bryan Hopkins for informing me that in the Book of Mormon, a history of the ancient Native American Indians, an episode is described in which a large group '...buried their weapons of war, for peace...', which the author suggests was the practice over two thousand years ago. This is not to say of course that the expression dates back to that age, although it is interesting to note that the custom on which the saying is based in the US is probably very ancient indeed.

bus - passenger vehicle - an abbreviation from the original 18-19th century horse-drawn 'omnibus' which in Latin means 'for all' (which is also the derivation of the term 'omnibus' when used to describe a whole week's TV soap episodes put together in one torturous weekend compilation). Unrelated but interestingly, French slang for the horse-drawn omnibus was 'four banal' which translated then to 'parish oven' - what a wonderful expression.

by and large - generally/vaguely/one way or another - one of a number of nautical sailing terms; 'by and large' literally meant 'to the wind and off it'. 'By' in this context meant to sail within six compass points of the wind, ie., almost into the wind. Bear in mind that a wind is described according to where it comes from not where it's going to. A South wind comes from the South. Sailing 'by' a South wind would mean sailing virtually in a South direction - 'to the wind' (almost into the wind). 'Large' was to sail at right-angles to the wind, which for many ships was very efficient - more so than having a fully 'following' wind (because a following wind transferred all of its energy to the ship via the rear sail(s), wasting the potential of all the other sails on the ship - a wind from the side made use of lots more of the ships sails. Different sails on a ship favoured winds from different directions, therefore to be able to sail 'by and large' meant that the ship sailed (well) 'one way or another' - 'to the wind and off it'. Also, the expression used when steering a course of 'by and large' meant being able to using both methods (of wind direction in relation to the ship) and so was very non-specific.

caddie or caddy - person who carries clubs and assists a golfer - caddie is a Scottish word (Scotland's golf origins date back to the 1500s) and is derived from the French word 'cadet', which described a young gentleman who joined the army without a commission, originally meaning in French a younger brother. Early Scottish use of the word cadet, later caddie, was for an errand boy. The golf usage of the caddie term began in the early 1600s.

cachet - mark of prestige or stylish, fashionable quality - from the French 1700s when 'lettres de cachet' (literally 'sealed letters') containing an open warrant, or carte-blanche, could be obtained from the king for a fee. Such warrants were used typically to enable a prisoner's freedom, or to imprison someone in the Bastille. The holder could fill in the beneficiary or victim's name. The practice was abolished on 15 January 1790.

(you can't) have your cake and eat it/want your cake and eat it too - (able or unable or want to) achieve or attain both of two seemingly different options - the 'have your cake and eat it' expression seems to date back at least to the English 1500s and was very possibly originated in its modern form by dramatist and epigram writer John Heywood (c.1497-c.1580) who first recorded it in his 1546 (according to Bartlett's) collection of proverbs and epigrams, 'Proverbs'. Heywood's collection is available today in revised edition as The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood. Other sources suggest 1562 or later publication dates, which refer to revised or re-printed editions of the original collection. Heywood was a favourite playwright of Henry VIII, and it is probably that his writings gained notoriety as a result. The English language was rather different in those days, so Heywood's version of the expression translates nowadays rather wordily as 'would ye both eat your cake and have your cake?'. This has been adapted over time to produce the more common modern versions: 'you can't have your cake and eat it (too)', and when referring to someone who is said to 'want their/your cake and eat it (too)'. Whether Heywood actually devised the expression or was the first to record it we shall never know. Etymologist Michael Quinion is one who implies that the main credit be given to Heywood, citing Heywood's work as the primary source. Quinion also mentions other subsequent uses of the expression by John Keats in 1816 and Franklin D Roosevelt in 1940, but by these times the expression could have been in popular use. The word cake was used readily in metaphors hundreds of years ago because it was a symbol of luxury and something to be valued; people had a simpler less extravagant existence back then.

cake walk, piece of cake/takes the cake/takes the biscuit/takes the bun - easy task/wins (the prize) - from the tradition of giving cakes as prizes in rural competitions, and probably of US origin. Brewer (1870) tells of the tradition in USA slavery states when slaves or free descendents would walk in a procession in pairs around a cake at a social gathering or party, the most graceful pair being awarded the cake as a prize. This also gave us the expression 'cake walk' and 'a piece of cake' both meaning a job or contest that's very easy to achieve or win, and the variations 'takes the biscuit', or 'take the bun', meaning to win (although nowadays in the case of 'takes the biscuit' is more just as likely to be an expression of being the worst, or surpassing the lowest expectations). The variations of bun and biscuit probably reflect earlier meanings of these words when they described something closer to a cake. On which point, I am advised (ack P Nix) that the (typically) American version expression 'takes the cake' arguably precedes the (typically) British version of 'takes the biscuit'. This all raises further interesting questions about the different and changing meanings of words like biscuit and bun. Biscuit in America is a different thing to biscuit in Britain, the latter being equivalent to the American 'cookie'. Bun to many people in England is a simple bread roll or cob, but has many older associations to sweeter baked rolls and cakes (sticky bun, currant bun, iced bun, Chelsea bun, etc).

to call a spade a spade - to use simple language - the expression is not an ethnic slur, which instead is derived from 'black as the