Etymological origin of "deosil" and "widdershins"
2012年3月11日 · Widdershins is Scots word, predominately found in the Lowlands. This oversimplifies a lot, and even from that oversimplification, there is nothing to say that a borrowing wouldn't have led to both being used by the same people (I grew up with a dialect with borrowings from both Irish and Ulster-Scots, so I certainly won't claim it doesn't ...
etymology - What did we say before "clockwise"? - English …
2012年6月21日 · The pairing of deosil and widdershins as antonyms is also modern, owing to their being commonly used in modern paganism. Ironicallly, deosil is often explained to be "sunwise" and hence to mean counter-clockwise if you are in the southern hemisphere.
adjectives - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
2015年3月30日 · To follow up on sumelic's succinct answer, I note that Dictionary.com is defining archaic and obsolete specifically with respect to usage labels.
etymology - Origin and meaning of "damn straight" - English …
2012年3月21日 · The phrase "damn straight" is now used as a way to emphatically agree with a statement, but where does it come from, and what did it mean originally?
etymology - If you can be "discombobulated", is it possible to be ...
2018年12月10日 · I've often heard the word "discombobulated" used. But I've never heard of something being "combobulated", and it's not in any dictionary I've looked at. If "combobulated" is not word, where did "
What is "Oki-doki" or "Oki-dokie" or "Okay-dokay"
2017年4月13日 · Okay, since now we know what is the origin of OK (I like the Oll Korrect version), I have another question about it's relative: What is an "Oki-doki" or "Oki-dokie" or "Okay-dokay"?
What is the origin of "wake up and smell the roses"
2012年10月15日 · "Stop and Smell the Roses" was the title of a song by Mac Davis in 1974. I could have sworn that I read this as a quote from "cowboy humorist" Will Rogers back in the 1920s or so, but I just spent more time googling this than it was worth and am unable to find any confirmation of this. (I did see that M
Why does this "Ladies First" saying exist?
2014年4月28日 · @Frank: for going down, that is true. For going up, however, to avoid glances at ankles - and more recently, legs, thighs and underclothing, the rule - as I have learned it at least - was to let the lady follow :) It might be that, since I am Dutch, I was never trusted to grow up a gentleman anyway... or, it could be that it was the lady who was not supposed to offer …
etymology - Origin of "someone is a character" - English Language ...
2019年6月4日 · The Collins Dictionary has If you say that someone is a character, you mean that they are interesting, unusual, or amusing. I haven't been able to find an origin of this usage. Where does it...
Origin of "kettle of fish" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
2011年10月26日 · What is the origin of the phrase "kettle of fish"? e.g. It's was a good film. But the sequel is a different kettle of fish. It seems to simply mean "thing", but in a fun and witty way. But I