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Witches' britches
2003
high maintenance
tank for crash, take a dive etc
Mad as a bicycle/brush/goose/snake/fish/bell/pink balloon/box
of frogs/bag of spiders/cut snake/hornet/bucket of toads
You say that as if it was a bad thing!
road kill
witches’ knickers
plastic bags stuck in trees (Guardian 2/12/03) (or witches’ britches)
of the street/s new Archbishop says we mustn’t adopt the
morals of the street, Bruno Schwartz spoke Russian/Polish not “the
Yiddish of the streets”
street for “the word on the street”
boot-knocking is the new bonking (Observer March 2) From the
States, just hit here. And gone by 2003. Apparently it originated in
hip-hop or rap circles. See Rapper Candyman’s 1990 Ain’t No. (Thanks to
Paul McFedries, the Wordspy.)
lollipop look losing so much weight that you look like a
lollipop, ie your head looks too big for your body (people who do this
are Lollipop Ladies 2005)
big tent
chops
for skill/talents
embedded journalists in Iraq (March)
embedment
embeds embedded journalists
spoils archaism revived for war coverage on TV
toy boy became boy toy
grey goo It was a threat – but what on earth was it? (May)
hurting for damaging hurting the investment rating
hurting for suffering She’s still hurting
minority for member of a minority ethnic group (US)
torpedo for destroy
multipolar world (Jacques Chirac) The French are very keen on
“poles”. But surely you can only have two poles, a north and a south?
pumped (up) for chuffed, bucked, gung-ho etc
pump for asthma inhaler
destination events/shopping/weddings
sleb celeb Guardian June 18, 2003 (like Lab for Labrador)
event TV/films You watch TV to have something to talk about.
bod is back (July) but only when referring to Demi Moore’s
new one, which cost (insert enormously high figure here).
phenom
mired
to mean stuck
target now means aim
slice and dice
suck it up
Could there be a nastier expression?
comfort zone
amuse bouche for amuse gueule (maybe nobody can spell or
pronounce “gueule” – and what happened to “bonne bouche”?)
sclerotic for hidebound
modern has been rehabilitated and is the modern word to use
when you want to say “modern”
No one can mention tweed without saying Miss Marple.
Deal with it for get used to it/get over it
Not a good look Needy is not a good look – and this is not a
new idea. It used to be “Desperation is not attractive.”
hobble for hamper
greenwash cosmetic attempts by firms to appear
environmentally sensitive
big up
top dollar
tsunami
get a wriggle on
(over already 2004)
fusty
bling-bling
(became bling by 2006)
it’s not rocket science has replaced “it’s not brain
surgery”. Odd because “rocket science” sounds 50s. Why don’t we say
“it’s not genetic engineering”? Maybe we like the retro feel.
joined at the hip
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