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fredpuli47

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fredpuli47

New Year/ Tax year

Why and when was it decided to end the financial year in Spring; since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar now April 5th; when the calendar year ends on December 31st ?
21:29 Thu 31st Dec 20094 answers, last by heathfield 15:28 Fri 01st Jan 2010
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fredpuli47

Rubber of bridge

In bridge and some other gamess, a rubber is a term for a set of matches, the winner of most being said "to have won the rubber". The Shorter Oxford is not much help, saying that, perhaps,'...
08:34 Thu 24th Dec 20093 answers, last by Quizmonster 09:15 Thu 24th Dec 2009
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fredpuli47

Double whammy

"It's a double whammy". Who coined this expression? How old is it? And what's a whammy?
08:24 Thu 24th Dec 20093 answers, last by Quizmonster 10:50 Thu 24th Dec 2009
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fredpuli47

Coast is clear

How old is the expression 'the coast is clear ' meaning it's safe to do something because there's nobody about ? What did it refer to at first? For example, it sounds as though it was said by...
10:52 Mon 14th Dec 20091 answer, last by Quizmonster 12:38 Mon 14th Dec 2009
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fredpuli47

MP's pay

When were Members of Parliament first paid a salary for being Members? How does the present salary of an MP compare with their salary in 1950, 1900, and 1850 and/ or the year of its introduction, when...
10:34 Wed 09th Dec 20093 answers, last by fredpuli47 23:14 Wed 09th Dec 2009
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fredpuli47

Drawn game

How did the words 'draw' and 'drawn' in ' a draw' and 'drawn game' come to mean a match ending in nobody being the winner? The Shorter Oxford Dictionary says the expression was originally 'a draw...
09:51 Wed 09th Dec 20098 answers, last by Quizmonster 16:56 Sun 13th Dec 2009
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fredpuli47

Souped up

What's the origin of 'souped up' as in ' it was a souped up Ford' meaning a Ford which had been modified to make the engine more powerful ?
19:21 Sun 22nd Nov 20096 answers, last by fredpuli47 13:30 Mon 23rd Nov 2009
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fredpuli47

Cherry picked

When did the expression 'to cherry-pick', meaning to select only the bits of a document or account which is favourable to your argument ,first come into use ? And what does it refer to ? Are cherries...
00:35 Sun 15th Nov 20095 answers, last by fredpuli47 18:44 Sun 15th Nov 2009
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fredpuli47

House spider

A 'house spider' has just appeared in the house. What's the best way to ensure its survival? Is it best to put it outside in the garden or to put it in a barn or the garage or just leave it to its own...
10:25 Fri 13th Nov 20096 answers, last by fredpuli47 20:44 Fri 13th Nov 2009
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fredpuli47

Churches before the Great Fire

The Great Fire of London destroyed 87 churches. How many churches were there in the City before the Fire?( All I can find is a lot of stuff about how many were replaced or restored).
10:14 Fri 13th Nov 20094 answers, last by Ankou 21:05 Mon 16th Nov 2009
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fredpuli47

Kidding

When did the expression ' I kid you not ' come into common use ? Was it someone's catch-phrase ?
09:23 Sat 07th Nov 20092 answers, last by fredpuli47 08:50 Mon 09th Nov 2009
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fredpuli47

Nope

What's the origin of 'Nope' for ' No' ?
07:54 Wed 21st Oct 20091 answer, last by Quizmonster 08:47 Wed 21st Oct 2009
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fredpuli47

Hill of beans

'The problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans', 'It's not worth a hill of beans' and so on. Can't think that 'hill of beans' was invented by the scriptwriters of Casablanca but...
15:58 Tue 06th Oct 20093 answers, last by marval 13:38 Wed 07th Oct 2009
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fredpuli47

Non sequitur (Cameron)

David Cameron has just told the BBC that he does not want anyone to vote for the Lisbon treaty and he has told the Czechs and the Poles what his position is. He then explains that he does not want to...
22:41 Mon 05th Oct 200910 answers, last by youngmafbog 11:28 Tue 06th Oct 2009
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fredpuli47

Jury is still out

When and where did the expression 'the jury is still out', meaning 'the outcome is uncertain' , first come into use?
07:03 Tue 22nd Sep 200912 answers, last by mallam 19:09 Fri 25th Sep 2009
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fredpuli47

Died of shock

The vet tells me that a wild animal that is hunted and caught may 'die of shock'. My dogs had cornered a muntjac deer, which I rescued from them. The deer had no obviously serious injury yet passed...
11:27 Fri 18th Sep 20091 answer, last by Clanad 21:25 Fri 18th Sep 2009
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fredpuli47

Wartime 'C C ' mark

In the days of wartime rationing, clothes, blankets etc were marked with symbols that looked like 'C C ',.in art deco writing, to show they were made to government approved standards. Was this really...
08:23 Wed 09th Sep 20092 answers, last by JonnyBoy12 15:12 Wed 09th Sep 2009
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fredpuli47

Chance would be...

" Chance would be a fine thing!" is commonly said without 'the' or 'a' at the beginning, which gives the expression an ancient air, as though, in the manner of old writers, Chance is...
10:51 Mon 07th Sep 20091 answer, last by Quizmonster 15:50 Mon 07th Sep 2009
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fredpuli47

Megs for 'teeth'

What's the origin of 'megs' used as a word for teeth ? I've heard 'meggy pegs' too, but my late mother used just 'megs' for teeth, particularly when talking calmingly to her dogs when examining theirs...
20:40 Sat 05th Sep 20096 answers, last by fredpuli47 10:17 Tue 08th Sep 2009
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fredpuli47

"The butler did it"

Was there a fictional murder mystery, solved in the discovery that the butler did it, which gave rise to the saying 'the butler did it' or is the origin of the saying in some jocular mockery of the...
21:56 Sun 30th Aug 20092 answers, last by fredpuli47 09:03 Mon 31st Aug 2009

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