Word Histories
138 FOLLOWERS
I am a French citizen named Pascal Tréguer. I graduated in French literature and linguistics from the University of Nantes and the Sorbonne. I am now living in Lancashire and devoting my time to uncovering the stories behind words and phrases. I am in particular trying to expose the falseness of many etymologies flourishing in books and on the Internet.
Word Histories
7h ago
UK—a ball game for three players, in which the middle player tries to intercept the ball as it passes between the other two—hence: a person, party, etc., caught between others in a conflict, dispute, etc ..read more
Word Histories
5d ago
USA, 1862—coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson: to set oneself high aspirations—later also: to advance one’s ambitions by associating oneself with somebody more successful or powerful ..read more
Word Histories
6d ago
UK Parliament, 1902: rapid verbal exchanges between two parties—Queensland Parliament, 1902: the to and fro of amendments to bills between two Houses of Parliament ..read more
Word Histories
1w ago
the use of books for therapeutic purposes, especially in the treatment of mental health conditions—USA, 1914—coined by essayist and Unitarian minister Samuel McChord Crothers (1857-1927 ..read more
Word Histories
1w ago
USA, 1906: a female attendant who shows people to their seats in a church—USA, 1907: a female usher at Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Opera House—from ‘usher’ and the suffix ‘-ette’, forming nouns denoting women or girls linked with, or carrying out a role indicated by, the first element ..read more
Word Histories
1w ago
UK, 1915—a female worker in a munitions factory, especially during the First World War (1914-18)—from ‘munition’ and the suffix ‘-ette’, denoting women or girls linked with, or carrying out a role indicated by, the first element ..read more
Word Histories
1w ago
UK, 1860: used specifically of the political and commercial uniqueness or isolation of the United Kingdom—but used earlier, more generally, in reference to being cut off from one’s kind or from the rest of the world ..read more
Word Histories
1w ago
UK, 1839—France, 1843—the best people in a group, or the best type of a particular thing—a borrowing from French ‘crème de la crème’, literally ‘cream of the cream ..read more
Word Histories
2w ago
Australia, 1865 (nonce-use): the process of turning into a person of high social rank—UK, 1964 (coined by sociologist Ruth Glass): the process whereby middle-class people take up residence in a traditionally working-class area of a city ..read more
Word Histories
2w ago
also ‘ring (a)round the bath(tub)’—USA, 1914—a dirty water-level mark left on the inside of a bathtub after it has been drained, caused by a combination of hard water and a build-up of soap scum, oils from bath products, etc ..read more