Исторический английский фразеологический словарь
Шрифт:
Ale-stake. The pole anciently set up in front of an alehouse. This was at first surmounted by a bush, in imitation of a wine bush; later it became exchanged for a sign.
Ale-wife. An old name for the wife of a tavern keeper.
Alexandra Limp. When our present Queen, as Princess of Wales, having sustained an injury to her knee, was walking lame, it became the fashion to imitate her gait.
Alexandria. The city founded by Alexander the Great, B.C. 332.
Aleutian Islands. From the Russian aleut, “bald rock.”
Alfreton. Properly Alfred’s Town, identified with Alfred the Great.
Algiers. From the Arabic Al Jezair, “the peninsula.”
Alhambra. From the Arabic Kal-at-al-hamra, “the red castle.”
Alibi. Latin for “elsewhere.”
A Little too Previous. An Americanism for being in too great a hurry; rushing at conclusions; saying or doing a thing without sufficient warranty.
All Abroad. Provincial for scattered wits; “all over the place.”
Allahabad. Arabic and Persian for “City of God.”
9All Bosh. The introduction of the term “Bosh” into our vocabulary must be accredited to James Morier, in whose Oriental romances, “The Adventures of Haiji Baba of Ispahan” and “Ayesha,” it frequently appears. Bosh is Persian and Turkish, signifying rubbish, nonsense, silly talk.
Alleghany. A corruption of Alligewi, the name of an Indian tribe.
Allemanni. Teutonic for “All Men”; expressing a confederacy.
All-fired. An Americanism for “great”–e.g. “He came in an all-fired hurry.”
All-hallowe’en. The vigil of “All-hallows’ Day.”
All-hallows’-Barking. This ancient church, dedicated to All the Saints, belonged to the Abbey at Barking, Essex.
All-hallows’ Day. The old-time designation of All Saints’ Day, from Anglo-Saxon halig, holy.
All Moonshine. As the light of the moon is reflected from the sun, so an incredible statement received at second hand is said to be “all moonshine.”
All my Eye and Betty Martin. A corruption of Ah mihi, beate Martine (Woe to me, Blessed Martin), formerly used by beggars in Italy to invoke their patron saint. The story goes that a sailor who wandered into a church in that country, hearing these words, afterwards told his companions that all he could make out from the service was: “All my eye and Betty Martin.”
All Saints’ Bay. Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci on the Feast of All Saints, 1503.
All Saints’ Day. The day set apart by the Church for the invocation of the whole body of canonised saints.
All Serena. From the Spanish serena, used by sentinels as a countersign for “All’s well.”
All Souls’ College. Founded at Oxford by Henry Chichely, Archbishop of Canterbury, for the perpetual offering up of prayers on behalf of the souls of those who fell in the wars of Henry V. in France.
10All Souls’ Day. The day of special prayers for the liberation of the suffering souls in Purgatory. The French people make it a point of duty to visit the graves of their deceased relatives on this day.
All the Go. Originally a drapers’ phrase, meaning that a certain line of goods is “going” fast and will soon be gone. A publisher, too, thinks a book should “go” with the reading public.
All There. An Americanism expressive of one who has all his wits about him.
Almack’s. Fashionable assembly-rooms in King Street, St James’s, opened 12th February 1765 by MacCall, a Scotsman, who inverted his name to remove all suspicion of his origin. The next proprietor called them Willis’s Rooms, after himself. In 1890 they were converted into a restaurant.
Almighty Dollar. For this expression we are indebted to Washington Irving, who in his sketch of “The Creole Village” (1837) spoke of it as “the great object of universal devotion throughout our land.”
Alnwick. The wick, or village, on the Alne.
Alpaca. Cloth made from the wool of the Peruvian sheep of the same name, akin to the llama.
Alps. From the Latin albus, white, the mountains eternally capped with snow.
Alsace. Teutonic for “the other seat,” being the abode of their own people west of the Rhine. With the Celtic suffix the name became “Alsatia.”
Alsatia. Anciently the district of Whitefriars, which, being a sanctuary for law-breakers, received the name of the Rhine province notorious as the common refuge of the disaffected.
Alter Ego. Expresses the Latin for “my other self” or “double.”
Amadeus. The family name of the House of Savoy, from its motto: “Love God.”
11Amain. A nautical phrase meaning suddenly, at once–e.g. “Strike amain,” “Lower amain.”
Amateur Casual. The literary sobriquet of Mr James Greenwood, who in 1866 spent a night in Lambeth Workhouse, and wrote his experiences in The Pall Mall Gazette. Within the last few months he has undertaken a similar up-to-date commission for The Tribune.
Amati. A violin of rare excellence made by Andrea Amati of Cremona.
Amazon. The Spaniards first called this river the Orellana, in honour of their countryman who navigated it, but after hearing accounts of the fighting women on its banks they gave it the name of the fabled African tribe of warlike women who cut or burnt off the right breast in order the better to steady the bow. The word Amazon is Greek, from a, without, and maza, breast.
Ambrosian Chant. Ascribed to St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan in the fourth century.
Ambuscade. From the Italian imboscata, concealed in a wood.
Amen. Hebrew for “Yea,” “Truly,” “So be it.”
Amen Corner. Old Stow tells us this lane was suddenly stopped up in his time, so that people said “Amen” on finding they had to turn back again. There may be something in this; but the greater likelihood is that it was here where the monks finished the recital of the Paternoster before they took up the Ave Maria while on their way in solemn procession to St Paul’s at the great Church festivals.