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Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's, is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical . The "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" from 1895 is now in the public ...
Originally the word traditionally muttered by actors in a play to provide background noise. Online Etymology Dictionary attributes the "loud squabble on the field" usage to broadcaster Garry Schumacher in 1938, [104] while OED and CDS both credit sportscaster Red Barber at a baseball game in 1943. OED's first non-baseball cite is 1949. [105]
A mondegreen (/ ˈ m ɒ n d ɪ ˌ ɡ r iː n /) is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. [1] Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes words that sound similar and make some kind of sense.
A postcard from 1905; the Flatiron Building in the background shows that 23rd Street is the location. This is the most widely known explanation for the phrase "23 skidoo".. 23 skidoo (sometimes 23 skiddoo) is an American slang phrase generally referring to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else, or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave.
This is a list of English words inherited and derived directly from the Old English stage of the language. This list also includes neologisms formed from Old English roots and/or particles in later forms of English, and words borrowed into other languages (e.g. French, Anglo-French, etc.) then borrowed back into English (e.g. bateau, chiffon, gourmet, nordic, etc.).
Noah Webster. (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". His "Blue-Backed Speller" books taught generations of American children how to spell and read.
This is a list of English language words borrowed from Indigenous languages of the Americas, either directly or through intermediate European languages such as Spanish or French. It does not cover names of ethnic groups or place names derived from Indigenous languages. Most words of Native American/First Nations language origin are the common ...
List of state and territory name etymologies of the United States. The fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the five inhabited U.S. territories, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands have taken their names from a wide variety of languages. The names of 24 states derive from indigenous languages of the Americas and one from Hawaiian.