Over the last few years lingonberry has become a fairly familiar English word. Thanks to a well-known Swedish furniture store putting lingonberry jam, jelly, and cordial on its shelves, and a few foody articles in lifestyle sections of the newspapers, many of us have a general idea that this small red berry is from Scandinavia, [more...]
The ‘Lungs of London’ are said to be the many parks and squares in London, and it conveys the idea of their importance to the well-being of its inhabitants. It was first attributed to William Pitt (1708 – 1778) Earl of Chatham, by Lord Windham in a speech in the House of Commons on 30 [more...]
There are no rules until they are broken. The idea behind this phrase is that the boundaries of acceptable behavior are complex and subtle, and cannot be codified by a simple set of rules. Therefore it’s best to start out with a set of general expectations backed up by a few rules, and to add [more...]
The British Parliament is steeped in history and tradition, and parliamentary debates in the House of Commons are often very lively and noisy with Members of Parliament calling out to the opposition party, waving order papers, exaggerating laughter or deriding the speeches of the opposition members. Critics liken it to a bear pit or a [more...]
The home of the President of United States was officially named the White House in October 1901. Construction of the building started in 1792, and the John Adams was the first President to occupy the building in 1800, even though it was far from finished. During the 19th century it was variously known as the Residence, [more...]
If you think the expression sounds like a product endorsement, you are right. If you think it sounds like a soap ad, you are absolutely correct, perhaps envisioning an well-known lovely smiling from a magazine page or speaking in a television spot. The soap manufacturer in question didn’t hesitate to advertise with testimonials. Lillie Langtry appeared [more...]
Red tape is when bureaucracy gets in the way of what you need: local government asking for obviously unnecessary documentation for something you want to do to your house—that you probably could have gotten away with without asking for approval; or it’s taking ages to just get a stamp of approval on a simple form, and [more...]
A Mud-Lark (or Mudlark) was the name given in the 19th century to children and adults who scavenged the banks of the River Thames in London. There were river scavengers in other parts of the country, but it seems the term Mud-Lark was largely used in London. According to the OED, the first mention of [more...]
The name Hooligan is now used to describe a person, more often than not, a youth, who takes part in destructive, unruly and anti-social behaviour. The original meaning meant a young ruffian who was a member of a street gang (Oxford English Dictionary, ‘OED‘). But who were the original Hooligans? Hooligan is an Irish surname. How [more...]
“Iced tea is now coming into use in the hot summer months; but this is an eccentric innovation, not likely very soon to become a common custom” This opinion appeared in 1869, in the not very far-seeing Herald of Health, published in New York. Iced tea was known in the 1860s as a warm weather drink, and [more...]
Bull and Bear Markets refer to trends in a market, particularly the Stock Exchange, as described in detail on this Quezi article. As noted in the article, their origin is unknown and open to speculation. But can we identify when the phrases first appeared in print? Bull Market and Bear Market, as locations, were both found [more...]