word choice - What do you call the thing you get at the hospital …
When you break your leg or any of your appendages you get a binding, you know, the white thing to fix your arm or leg. What is that called? I find the words gypsum, cast and plastery in the dict...
Origin of "to be into [someone] for [a sum of money]"
Partridge Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2002) says: into (a person) for (a sum of money), be. To owe a person so-much, to have let him down for a stated …
What is the origin of "giving [it] the old college try"?
For more background on the use of the phrase, including some connotations I wasn't aware of, I offer the following entry in Paul Dickson's The Dickson Baseball Dictionary: old college try A …
Where does the word “wankers” come from? - English Language …
The term wanker is derived from the verb wank in the sense of to masturbate. However, neither the OED nor Etymonline can trace it further back than that: both claim it is of “obscure origin”, …
'Calm, cool and collective' vs 'calm, cool and collected'
What is the difference between calm, cool and collective and calm, cool and collected? What is the meaning of collective or collected when used in this way? I checked the dictionary but still …
Origin of current slang usage of the word 'sick' to mean 'great'?
I think the pattern is related, though I'm unable to substantiate that. Still, I've observed it enough: some adjective is used informally to mean something different than it typically means (maybe …
The opposite of a paean - English Language & Usage Stack …
The most recent example in the OED is from 1960, R. Eberhart, Coll. Poems 1930–60, p. 14: "The perfect lament, and threne of sorrow's throat". As an adjective, you've got "threnetic" …
etymology - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Nov 30, 2020 · The President-elect tried to buck up weary Americans with a hopeful Thanksgiving message this week, promising that this "grim season of division" would soon give …
When to use 'no good'; when to use 'not good'? [duplicate]
From OED (good): colloq. to be any, some, no good: to be any, some, no use. Also of persons, to be no good = 'to be a bad lot', to be worthless. Also of things a bit of no good, quite a lot of …
How did the phrase "hear you out" or "hear me out" come about?
The first citation the OED has for hear out is: "1637 J. Shirley Gamester iii, in I. Reed Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Plays (1780) IX. 63 It will be inconvenient to hear out your curranto." So your …