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The phrase originated as Cockney rhyming slang where "cobblers" refers to cobbler's awls which rhymes with "balls" (), as in the exclamation "Balls!"for "Nonsense!". [1] [2] The use of the rhyme allows a taboo word, in this case the vulgar exclamation "balls!", to be avoided. [3]
Academic Word List, a word frequency list from a broad range of academic texts; Alliance for Workers' Liberty, a Trotskyist group in Britain; Arizona Winter League, a former instructional baseball league; The Awl, a current events and culture website in New York City; Statement List (German: Anweisungsliste (AWL)), an instruction list language ...
Taking this one stage further, the clue word can hint at the word or words to be abbreviated rather than giving the word itself. For example: "About" for C or CA (for "circa"), or RE. "Say" for EG, used to mean "for example". More obscure clue words of this variety include: "Model" for T, referring to the Model T.
The scratch awl is basically a steel spike with its tip sharpened to a fine point. The tip of the spike is drawn across the timber, leaving a shallow groove. It may also be used to mark a point by pressing the tip into the timber. [2] It is generally used when dimensioning and for laying out with the grain. It may also be used across the grain.
The word "pressed" connotes a certain weight put on someone. It could mean being upset or stressed to the point that something lives in your mind "rent-free," as Black Twitter might say. Or, in ...
Cryptic crossword clues consist typically of a definition and some type of word play. Cryptic crossword clues need to be viewed two ways. One is a surface reading and one a hidden meaning. [28] The surface reading is the basic reading of the clue to look for key words and how those words are constructed in the clue. The second way is the hidden ...
The "punch-drunk" meaning OED cites to 1936; the "dizzy" meaning appears two years later. The "carefree…etc" connotation appears in 1937; [76] it appears the evolution of the idiomatic meaning was influenced by the element "happy" over that of "slap". sparring partner Boxing: A person with whom one routinely argues or enjoys arguing.
power point electrical outlet poxy (slang) something that is unsatisfactory or in generally bad condition. prang (slang) to crash a motor vehicle with generally minor damage (US: fender bender) pram, perambulator wheeled conveyance for babies (US: baby-carriage) prat * (slang) an incompetent or ineffectual person, a fool, an idiot press-up