To earmark something, often used in reference to monetary funds, means to keep or designate it for a certain purpose. For example, a company might earmark certain funds for advertising. The term earmark has been in use since at least the 1570s. It originally, and still does, refer to a distinguishing mark on an animal. … Read more
When someone is left alone to agonize over the consequences of their own bad decisions, with no one coming to rescue them, we say they are being left to “stew in their own juice.” It’s a vivid phrase, and if you search for its origin of the idiom, standard reference guides will almost universally point … Read more
Abecedarian is an archaic and extinct English word that began being used during the 1600s. See if you can guess the etymology of this unusual English word after learning the meaning. Abecedarian Meaning Abecedarian (noun): 1. person or book that teaches the alphabet 2. someone learning the alphabet 3. of or relating to the alphabet … Read more
While Donald Trump was still president, a news person said he had a bully pulpit. Given the context, and being interested in linguistics and etymology, I wondered if they were using the term correctly. You see, the term bully pulpit does not mean ‘using the pulpit to be a bully,’ as would seem to apply … Read more
Want to see more videos from Idioms.Online? Subscribe to our YouTube channel! If a person or a group of people boycott a business, organization, country, etc. they refuse to have any involvement with it in order to show their disapproval and to force a change in policy, habits, attitude, etc. To boycott a business is … Read more
To invent, in English, means to design or create something that has never been made before or to make up an idea, story, name, false fact, etc. for the purpose of deception. However, invent, originally, meant ‘find.’ Etymology of Invent Invent was originally based on the past-participial stem of the Latin word invenīre, inventus. Invenīre … Read more
The word boulder in English, refers to a very large rock or stone, typically one that has been worn and rounded over many years by the weather. Although any stone large than ten inches in diameter might be called a boulder, they are typically considered to be stones too large for a person to move single-handedly. … Read more
The phrase ‘friends don’t let friends drive drunk‘ has been around for decades. It has today evolved into countless sayings about what friends don’t let friends do. Although it may have been coined earlier, it first entered the national U.S. consciousness through a television ad created (and other print and billboard ads) by the Ad … Read more
Every source I checked on the idiom Bucket List claims the idiom came from the 2007 movie called Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Yet, when I first saw the movie come out, I was already familiar with the idiom. I clearly remember the idiom from way back so I’m going to set … Read more
When a person experiences a prolonged, uninterrupted streak of success, where one victory seems to effortlessly trigger the next, we say they are “on a roll.” For years, a persistent internet folk etymology has claimed this phrase was born from state lotteries “rolling over” massive, unclaimed jackpots. This is a complete historical myth. The true … Read more