Language Café

Definition: A feeling of pessimism and despondency.Origin: The phrase began to be used in US newspapers in the late 19th century - for example, this piece from the North Carolina paper The Statesville Landmark, May 1875. The expression's use was initially limited largely to the fields of finance and politics.

Definition: A person who spoils other people's fun by failing to join in with or by disapproving of their activities.Origin: A person who dampens and smothers all enthusiasm; a person who prevents fun; a pessimist; killjoy, party pooper (1879+). Stemming from using a wet blanket to put out a fire.

Definition: If you're "in stitches", you're laughing so hard that your sides hurt.Origin: Presumably comparing the physical pain of intense laughter with the prick of a needle, "in stitches" was first used in 1602 by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night. After this, the expression isn't recorded again until the 20th century, but it's now commonplace.

Definition: A situation in which someone is enjoying not having a job because they have time for leisure and other activities.Origin: The expression 'funemployment' has been around for the last two years or so, spawned by the wave of job losses caused by the recent period of economic turbulence. Notable in popularizing the term was former San Francisco marketing executive Alexis Mansinne, who in 2008 decided to view her redundancy as a positive opportunity for change and started writing a blog entitled Funemployment.

Definition: We use this expression to refer to someone who criticizes someone else, for something that they themselves are guilty of. To criticize someone for a flaw you possess.Origin: First used in the literature of the 1600s – notably Don Quixote by Cervantes – this expression has its origins in the Medieval kitchen, when both pots and kettles were made from sturdy cast iron and both would get black with soot from the open fire.

Definition: To "turn a blind eye" to something means to pretend not to have noticed it.Origin: Interestingly, this expression is said to have arisen as a result of the famous English naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson, who, during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, is alleged to have deliberately raised his telescope to his blind eye, thus ensuring that he would not see any signal from his superior giving him discretion to withdraw from the battle.

Definition: 1. Rich2. A phrase that has a lot of extra meaning or subtext, beyond its superficial meaning.3. Excessively drunk.

Definition: If you say "eat your heart out" followed by the name of a famous person, you are joking that you are even better than that person. Implying that this person would be jealous.Origin: When used as the taunt "Eat your heart out, [someone]!" it is suggestion that the recipient of the taunt "eat up" as much as they like. (From the same construction as "dance your heart out," etc.) Literally, similar to "have all you can eat!" Figuratively more akin to "experience me besting you."

Definition: Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way. Origin: As a descriptive term, kitsch originated in the art markets of Munich in the 1860s and the 1870s, describing cheap, popular, and marketable pictures and sketches.

Meaning: a nail-biting event or period of time is one that makes you feel very nervous, usually because you are waiting for something important to happen.Origin: A situation is so exciting or unpredictable, that it leads to people anxiously biting their nails.