
Why is it "the day is young", not "still early"? What is the …
"The day is young" corresponds to "the hour is early" or better still simply "it is early". To me "the day is early" would be slightly unusual, but might suggest the early part of a longer period, …
history - Change from to-day to today - English Language
In old books, people often use the spelling "to-day" instead of "today". When did the change happen? Also, when people wrote "to-day", did they feel, when pronouncing the word, that it …
What's the origin of the idiom "don't give it the time of day"?
I Googled the phrase "time of day idiom" because I was particularly interested in the origin/etymology of the "time of day" part. I readily found the meaning (which I already knew), …
Etymology of "history" and why the "hi-" prefix?
That is why feminists, for example, rejected the word history and championed the notion of herstory during the 1970s, says Dictionary.com’s Jane Solomon, “to point out the fact that …
etymology - Is "holiday" derived from "holy day"? - English …
Holiday is a compound stemming from the words holy and day. The word 'holiday' first surfaced in the 1500's replacing the earlier word 'haliday' which was recorded before 1200 in the Old …
What is the origin of the phrase "'til the cows come home"?
I was in Bavaria in the late 1970s and early 1980s and I actually saw the cows coming home. The cows all belonged to different farmers and would go up into the pastures for the day, and at …
What is the origin of the phrase "Top of the morning to you"?
Here "the top of the morning" again means "the beginning of the day"—although it is not clear from the context whether this is synonymous with "dawn" or some other marker of the earliest …
What is the origin of the phrase "gathering wool"?
It is a very old saying, that dates back at least to the 16th century: Woolgathering: 1550s, "indulging in wandering fancies and purposeless thinking," from the literal meaning "gathering …
etymology - What is the origin of the phrase "hunky dory"?
To this day its usage remains a positive statement of the current state of affairs and is frequently used in programming androids and bio-forms to provide a positive null state for default …
A word/phrase for an unexpected change or turn of events …
Inflection points are more significant than the small day-to-day progress typically made, and the effects of the change are often well known and widespread. Based on mathematical charting …