From ‘bee’s knees’ to ‘bite the bullet’.
Meaning: Legitimate.
Origin: Cardsharps place their hands under the ‘board’ or table to stack the deck. If they keep their hands above the board they can be presumed to be performing without trickery.
Meaning: Fully prepared for a confrontation.
Origin: Medieval warriors were often so laden with weapons that sometimes they would have to carry one in their teeth.
Meaning: All at once.
Origin: The phrase originally meant ‘swift and brutal murder’, and was first used in Macbeth. Macduff utters the words on hearing of the death of his wife and children. A ‘swoop’ is the sudden descent of a bird of prey on its victim. ‘Fell’ is from the Old French word fel, meaning ‘merciless’.
Meaning: Pushed to the limit.
Origin: It derives from aviation. The ‘balls’ sat on top of the levers controlling the throttle and fuel mixtures. Pushing them forward towards the wall the cockpit made the plane go faster.
