Language Café

Definition: Something that a particular person finds especially annoying.Origin: The term is a back-formation from the 14th-century word peevish, meaning "ornery or ill-tempered".

Definition: lure (someone) into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona.Origin: Catfishing,' a slang term for creating fake profiles on social media to create false identities, has its origins in the 2010 movie 'Catfish,' a pseudo-documentary that chronicled a young man's online friendship with a woman that turned out to be very different from her Facebook profile.

Definition: "First World Problems" are frustrations and complaints that are only experienced by privileged individuals in wealthy countries.Origin: The earliest known reference to "first world problems" can be found in the lyrics of Canadian alt rock band Matthew Good Band.

Definition: In difficulty, faced with a choice between two unsatisfactory options.Origin: According to Phrases.org.uk, in 1917 the lack of funding precipitated by the earlier banking crisis led to a dispute between copper mining companies and mineworkers in Bisbee, Arizona. It's tempting to surmise, given that the mineworkers were faced with a choice between harsh and underpaid work at the rock-face on the one hand and unemployment and poverty on the other.

Definition: "Mind your manners", "mind your language", "be on your best behaviour" or similar.Origin: It concerns the distinction of the lowercase letters p and q in the context of the school-room or the printing-office. Another explanation suggests that "Ps and Qs" is short for "pleases" and "thank-yous". Another proposed origin is from the English pubs and taverns of the 17th century. Bartenders would keep a watch on the alcohol consumption of the patrons; keeping an eye on the pints and quarts that were consumed. As a reminder to the patrons, the bartender would recommend they "mind their Ps and Qs".

Definition: A man explaining (something) to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.Origin: A combination of "man" and explaining. In an essay titled Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit told an anecdote about a man at a party who said he had heard she had written some books. It turned out to be her books.

Definition: To spend more time or energy doing something than is necessary. To blow something out of proportion.Origin: The origin is in cooking. And preparing a meal with relatively scarce ingredients.

Definition: A state or situation characterized by chaos, panic, or loss of control.Origin: From when planes are shot down and start spiraling to the ground. Dates back to World War I.

Definition: To do the hard work and effort that is needed for success, often when this is not noticed by other peopleOrigin: May be from rugby. The yards in this case are the yards gained in moving your side forward on the field. The yards that are the hardest to achieve.

Definition: a) To cut with rough or heavy blows (v)b) A writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work (n)c) To bypass/manipulate computer code.d) A shortcut to save time.Origin: The earliest examples of the word hack in computers share a relatively benign sense of "working on" a tech problem in a different, presumably more creative way than what's outlined in an instruction manual. Negative versions come from the word 'Hackney' which means something that is done over and over again with little imagination.