etymology - Why did the word, “shellac” come to mean “to defeat . . . An opposing sports team, a disobedient child, and apparently an incumbent president were thus liable to a series of rapid slaps like someone shellacking a boat or panelled room In this usage, it really is the process of shellacking that gave rise to its metaphorical slang use, not, as with the 1920 drunks, some quality of shellac itself
meaning - Is it chalk it up to or chock it up to? - English . . . Robert Rubin, Going to Hell in a Hen Basket: An Illustrated Dictionary of Modern Malapropisms (2015) has this discussion of "chalk-full" and "chock it up to": chalk-full V: chock it up to Confuses chockfull with chalk it up to Chock-full is an old phrase, perhaps coming from choke-full or full to choking Chalk it up to comes from chalk tally marks on a slate Chock marks indicate where to
nouns - English Language Usage Stack Exchange concept: an abstract idea; a general notion conception: the way in which something is perceived or regarded These two words are troubling me because it seems that there is a way that concept and
songs - Who are bully boys in sea shanties? - English Language . . . In various sea shanties the term " bully boys " comes up now and again Here for example in The Wellerman, first verse: There once was a ship that put to sea The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea The winds blew up, her bow dipped down Oh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh) Or in the title and text of Blow, my bully boys, blow, for which I have trouble finding the lyrics currently, but there is
Which term is correct — Afghan or Afghani? I was talking with a friend who told me that Afghani is an offensive term for someone from Afghanistan, and that I should use Afghan instead Is Afghani actually an offensive term?
punctuation - Why is there a slash within n a? - English Language . . . The important thing to note is that these abbreviations are much more common in handwritten correspondence than they are online c o is often used when addressing post to someone via a third party, and w and w o are common written shorthand for with and without It was quite common in older written texts to abbreviate words using some identifying letters and a line, for example: w— for with
meaning - Is it alright or allright? - English Language Usage . . . The second spelling requires a space: it is either “ alright ” or “ all right ” The New Oxford American Dictionary says: Usage: The merging of all and right to form the one-word spelling alright is first recorded toward the end of the 19th century (unlike other similar merged spellings such as altogether and already, which date from much earlier) There is no logical reason for
Suffering succotash - English Language Usage Stack Exchange I suppose it's possible the expression was used (on rare occasions) in the mid-1800s, but I'd have thought that would be largely irrelevant to it being revived coined by cartoon characters later Warner, Disney, etc , wouldn't want any of their target audience to see it as a "minced oath", since that would still be potentially offensive to some Whatever - my guess is sufferin' succotash is a