Wordorigins.org Newsletter

Home
About

Sign in Subscribe

polonium (paid)

Dave Wilton

07 Jun 2024 • 1 min read

Share

Pierre and Marie Curie, c. 1904

This post is for paying subscribers only

Subscribe now

Already have an account? Sign in

Paid-members only

hodad (paid)

04 May 2026 4 min read

English (spin)

4 May 2026 In billiards, and in other sports, to put English on a ball is to cause it to spin so that it’s course changes. In billiards, this is done by striking the ball on one side, and the course change often occurs after it caroms off the

04 May 2026 2 min read

eighty-six / 86

2 May 2026 Eighty-six or 86 originated in restaurant slang with the meaning that an item was out of stock. It also came into use as a verb meaning to cancel an order and to eject or not serve a customer. It then passed into general slang to mean to

02 May 2026 4 min read

Wordorigins.org Newsletter © 2026

Sign up

Powered by Ghost