McConville & John Shearlaw, The Slanguage of Sex, 1984
Street Talk: Street Talk: The Language of Coronation Street, eds Jeffrey Miller & Graham Nown, 1986
abandon hope all ye who enter here! Ironic but good-humoured welcoming phrase – a popular mistranslation of the words written over the entrance to Hell in Dante’s Divina Commedia (circa 1320). ‘All hope abandon, ye who enter here!’ would be a more accurate translation of the Italian, ‘lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate!’
—abhors a vacuum PHRASES A format based on the maxim ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’ that François Rabelais quotes in its original Latin form, ‘natura abhorret vacuum’, in his Gargantua (1535). Galileo (1564–1642) asserted that it was the reason mercury rises in a barometer. An early appearance in English is, ‘The Effatum, That Nature abhors a Vacuum’, from Robert Boyle, A Free Enquiry Into the Vulgarly Receiv’d Notion of Nature (1685). ‘Nature abhors a straight line’ was a saying of the English garden landscaper Capability Brown (1715–83). Clare Boothe Luce, the American writer and socialite (1903– 87), is supposed to have said, ‘Nature abhors a virgin’, but this may just be a version of the line in her play The Women (1936): ‘I’m what nature abhors – an old maid. A frozen asset.’ ‘Nature abhors a vacuum and what appears ultimately to concern the Reagan Administration most of all is the possibility that President Mitterrand’s France will gradually abandon its traditional military protection of central Africa and the Sahara’ – Financial Times (12 August 1983); ‘I quickly developed a pear-shaped figure that testified to my indolent lifestyle. I became the archetypal also-ran that PE masters could barely bring themselves to talk to without risk of life-threatening apoplexy: they abhorred my idleness as Nature abhors a vacuum’ – The Guardian (24 June 1986).
abide with me See CHANGE AND DECAY.
above and beyond (the call of duty) Phrase expressing an outstanding level of service, used in tributes and such like. OED2 has several ‘above and beyonds’ but not this precise one. Above and Beyond was the title of an American TV series of military stories (circa 1996).
Abraham’s bosom Where the dead sleep contentedly. From Luke 16:23: ‘And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.’ The phrase alludes to Abraham, first of the Hebrew patriarchs. Compare ARTHUR’S BOSOM.
absit omen See GESUNDHEIT.
absolutely, Mister Gallagher! / positively, Mister Shean! Phrases of agreement; roundabout ways of saying ‘yes’, taken from the American vaudevillians (Ed) Gallagher and (Al) Shean whose act flourished in the early part of the 20th century. The exchange was included in a popular song ‘Mr Gallagher and Mister Shean’ (1922) though, in that song, the order of words was ‘positively, Mister Gallagher / absolutely, Mr Shean’. Each syllable of the adverbs is emphasized – e.g. ‘pos-it-ive-ly’, ‘ab-so-lute-ly’.
accidents will occur in the best-regulated families A catchphrase used lightly to cover any domestic upset. The basic proverbial expression, ‘Accidents will happen’ was known by the 1760s; this full version by the 1810s. Best known in the form delivered by Mr Micawber in Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Chap. 28 (1850): ‘“Copperfield,” said Mr. Micawber, “accidents will occur in the best-regulated families; and in families not regulated by…the influence of Woman, in the lofty character of Wife, they may be expected with confidence, and must be borne with philosophy”.’ Dickens had earlier used the saying in Pickwick Papers (1836–7) and Dombey and Son (1844–6).
(an) accident waiting to happen Hindsight phrase, frequently used in the wake of a disaster. This is the survivors’ and experts’ way of pointing to what, to them, seems the foreseeable and inevitable result of lax safety standards that will now probably be corrected only as a result of the tragedy. Much used in relation to the late 1980s spate of disasters in the UK (Bradford City football ground fire, Zeebrugge ferry overturning, Piper Alpha oil-rig explosion, Kings Cross Tube fire, Hillsborough football stadium crowd deaths). Used as the title of a 1989 book on the subject by Judith Cook. ‘Ignorance and neglect cost 51 lives [in the Marchioness boat disaster]…“You don’t need the benefit of hindsight to say this was an accident waiting to happen,” he said’ – Today (16 August 1991).
according to Cocker By strict calculation, exactly. Edward Cocker (1631–75) was an arithmetician who is believed to have written down the rules of arithmetic in a popular guide.
according to Hoyle Exactly; correctly; according to the recognized rules; according to the highest authority. The phrase comes from the name of the, at one time, standard authority on the game of whist (and other card games). Edmond Hoyle was the author of A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist (1742). ‘If everything goes according to Hoyle, I’ll go into semiretirement there’ – Melody Maker (21 August 1971).
(an) ace in the hole A hidden advantage or secret source of power. An American phrase used as the title of a Cole Porter song in the show Let’s Face It (1941), of a Billy Wilder film (US 1951) and of an Annie Proulx novel, That Old Ace In the Hole (2002). It came originally from the game of stud poker. A ‘hole’ card is one that is not revealed until the betting has taken place. If it is an ace, so much the better. DOAS dates the use of the expression, in a poker context, to the 1920s, OED2 to 1915. In British English, the nearest equivalent would be to talk of having an ace up one’s sleeve. ‘In the long haul…AM’s ace in the hole may be the $213 million net operating loss carryforward it still has left from its 1981–2 losses’ – The New York Times (6 May 1984).
(an) Achilles’ heel The vulnerable point of any person or thing. Referring to Achilles, the foremost warrior in the Trojan war, who sulked in his tent, was hero of the Iliad and was vulnerable only at the heel (in allusion to the story of the dipping of Achilles’ heel in the river Styx). ‘Divorce is the Achilles’ heel of marriage’ – Bernard Shaw, letter (2 July 1897). It was cited as a ‘dying metaphor’ by George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’ in Horizon (April 1946). ‘If Oppenheimer has an “Achilles” heel, it is his overriding loyalty to his friends’ – Arthur Holly Compton, Atomic Quest (1956); ‘It is the refusal to condemn which is the Achilles heel of contemporary Christian psychology’ – Catholic Herald (28 January 1972).
(an) acid test A crucial test. Originally an ‘acid test’ involved the use of aqua fortis to test for gold. Cited as a ‘lump of verbal refuse’ by George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language’ in Horizon (April 1946). ‘The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will’ – President Woodrow Wilson, quoted in The Times (9 January 1918); ‘The acid test of any political decision is, “What is the alternative?“’ – Lord Trend, quoted in The Observer (21 December 1975); ‘Let’s get South Africa working. For we must together and without delay begin to build a better life for all South Africans. This is going to be the acid test of the government of national unity’ – Nelson Mandela, quoted in Financial Times (3 May 1994); ‘If the same weight is not given to the improvement of human capital as to market share, profit and other organisational priorities, small wonder the human resources function is often viewed as unrelated to the “real” goals of the company. The acid test here is: do the job descriptions of all staff (board of directors,
