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English Language & Usage

Questions tagged [origin-unknown]

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Words and phrases whose origin is unknown or in serious dispute, according to reputable reference works.

199 questions
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I’m interested to know the original source of the quote, “Never try, never know.” Internet searching attributes the quote to John Barrow, but does not identify who John Barrow is, when he lived, or ...
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The verb “drop” has undergone semantic expansion. Once confined to music industry slang—often associated with hip-hop or radio rollouts—it now functions as a generalized announcement verb for the ...
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There is a lid for every pot is a saying that essentially means "There is someone for everyone", most commonly used in the context of romantic relationships. Variations include "Every ...
ermanen's user avatar
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Performant is a French word without an exact equivalent in English as is sportive. performant adjective computing specialized (of technology, etc.) working in an effective way: We found it ...
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A booby is a type of seabird similar to a gannet, in the genus Sula. Blue-footed booby - Wikipedia The OED and Etymonline differ in the etymology of booby (the name of the seabird). The OED says: ...
ermanen's user avatar
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What is the meaning of sinc at the very beginning of the Introduction section of a thesis? I believe that it is not a typo, I checked it on various websites but I couldn't find anything except the ...
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Sprocket originally referred to a carpenter's tool, but its usual meaning now is a toothed wheel that drives a chain or gear. Etymonline says 'of obscure origin': 1530s, originally a carpenters' word ...
ermanen's user avatar
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Tachypsychia (or hypotachia) is the everyday notion that "time slows down" in moments of stress or action. This is often mentioned in sports (and indeed video games, esports), and in ...
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I've just found out that a penny can be called a win in slang. It appears to be only used in British slang, and perhaps in Irish too. Green’s Dictionary of Slang mentions below and gives the earliest ...
ermanen's user avatar
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I’ve come across the term “overaction” being used frequently in Indian English, often to describe someone who is exaggerating their actions or emotions. However, I’m curious if this usage is unique to ...
Alejandro García's user avatar
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How did the word FLUKE come to be associated with luck or chance? What's currently available is speculation. Is that still "state of the art"? See fluke (n.2) at Etymonline: "lucky ...
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I would really like to know where the idiom "take one's medicine" comes from. At first l thought it was another version of taste of their own medicine, but I found that these two have ...
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As far as I can tell this name crops up mid 1800s, and (informal analysis) looks like it peaks circa 1890-1915. In the present day I'd say it is extremely rare, but I can find living Zorado women and ...
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I couldn't find where the phrase "bring to the table" originated. Please share your thoughts and any information you have.
Juniper Scott's user avatar
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2 answers
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I was looking through a book about Indian English (Sahibs, Nabobs, and Boxwallahs: A Dictionary of the Words of Anglo-India) and I noticed the following definition (edited lightly): Cherry-merry: ...
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