
What is the meaning of "it insists upon itself" when referring the ...
Sep 9, 2024 · The point of the comment rather than the literal meaning is they're drowning and he's critiquing films. Drowning is serious as the water insists upon itself, and he's sharing …
How did the word "beaver" come to be associated with vagina?
From " Why King George of England May Have to Lose His Beard: How the Game of 'Beaver' Which All England Is Playing Is So Threatening the Proper Reverence for the Throne That …
Why is "Garden Leave" so called? - English Language & Usage …
Jan 10, 2013 · In Australian usage the term is "gardening leave" which makes clearer that the person (often a senior executive with major responsibilities) now has nothing to do but …
Reason for different pronunciations of "lieutenant"
Dec 6, 2014 · While Americans (and possibly others) pronounce this as "loo-tenant", folks from the UK pronounce it as "lef-tenant". Why?
Origin of the phrase, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."
Jun 30, 2011 · I couldn't find any use of the phrase earlier than the 1840 Money Diggers reference, but I did find some background to which the saying might refer. Apparently the …
When should the word "English" be capitalized?
I am often confused how the word "English" should be written in phrases such as "English language", because I have seen both variants: capitalized and starting with lowercase letter. …
Why is it called hypochondria instead of hyperchondria?
Aug 18, 2020 · If hyper essentially means excessive and hypo means the opposite then how does this word make and sense? It seems like some people decided to improperly make a word out …
Where does the use of "why" as an interjection come from?
Mar 18, 2011 · "why" can be compared to an old Latin form qui, an ablative form, meaning how. Today "why" is used as a question word to ask the reason or purpose of something.
Where does the exclamation "F***ing Hell" originate?
Jan 4, 2017 · As we all know, the underworld cannot fornicate as it is not a living being (probably). Where then, did the natural-feeling pairing of swear-words "Fucking hell" come from?
Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)
Dec 1, 2015 · This appears to be speculative, and doesn't necessarily explain why this definition fell into common usage to indicate a cigarette. I'm looking for something more concrete …