# sports & games (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover sports & games. Page: Feed: --- ## [‘mell of a hess’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/21/mell-of-a-hess/) _2026-08-21 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a complete mess—USA, 1906—humorous euphemistic transposition of the initial letters of the nouns composing the phrase ‘hell of a mess’ ## [‘air guitar’ | ‘air band’: meanings and early occurrences](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/20/air-guitar-air-band/) _2026-08-20 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ ‘air guitar’: an imaginary guitar played by miming, especially to rock music—‘air band’: a pretend rock band whose members mime the action of playing imaginary instruments—USA, 1978 ## [‘to rally round the flag’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/19/rally-round-flag/) _2026-08-19 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ (of a group) to demonstrate loyalty to the nation or to a cause, especially at a time of perceived threat—UK, 1793, as ‘to rally round the standard’ ## [‘lust at first sight’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/17/lust-at-first-sight/) _2026-08-17 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ USA, 1914—an instant, strong sexual desire for someone whom one has never previously seen—humorous variant of ‘love at first sight’ ## [‘love in a cottage’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/16/love-in-cottage/) _2026-08-16 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a marriage for love, or a romantic relationship, faced with insufficient financial means—UK, 1745 ## [‘dead from the neck up’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/13/dead-from-neck-up/) _2026-08-13 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ also ‘dead from the chin up’—completely stupid—USA, 1870—alludes to being brain-dead ## [‘romantasy’: meanings and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/12/romantasy/) _2026-08-12 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a fantastical or idealised story, situation, etc., involving romance—USA, 1928—a blend of either the noun ‘romance’ or the adjective ‘romantic’, and of the noun ‘fantasy’ ## [‘romantasy’: meanings and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/12/romantasy/) _2026-08-12 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a fantastical or idealised story, situation, etc., involving romance—USA, 1928—a blend of either the noun ‘romance’ or the adjective ‘romantic’, and of the noun ‘fantasy’ ## [‘(as) extinct as the diplodocus’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/11/extinct-as-diplodocus/) _2026-08-11 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ of a person or thing: irretrievably defunct or out of date—UK, 1905—perhaps originally in allusion to ‘Diplodocus Carnegii’, named after Andrew Carnegie, who, that year, presented the skeleton of that diplodocus to the Natural History Museum of London ## [‘Charlie (Big) Potatoes’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/05/charlie-big-potatoes/) _2026-08-05 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a rich and important man—USA, 1958, as ‘Charlie Potatoes’—UK, 1995, as ‘Charlie Big Potatoes’— ‘Charlie’: generic term for a man—‘potatoes’: perhaps slang for ‘money’, ‘dollars’ ## [Stop CI/CD & Supply-Chain Attacks (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/IqHycakhspmN) _2026-08-05 · **Sponsored**_ Per-PR: 17 CI/CD checks and package malware scans with inline Check Run findings. ## [‘to make a horlicks of (something)’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/03/horlicks/) _2026-08-03 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ to make a mess of (something)—UK, 1970—used in reference to the trade-name of a malted milk-powder—perhaps as a euphemism for some crude word ## [‘jobsworth’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/02/jobsworth/) _2026-08-02 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a person in authority who insists on adhering to rules even at the expense of common sense—1965, in the British pop-music milieu—from ‘job’s worth’ in the phrase ‘to be more than one’s job’s worth’ ## [‘jobsworth’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/02/jobsworth/) _2026-08-02 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ a person in authority who insists on adhering to rules even at the expense of common sense—1965, in the British pop-music milieu—from ‘job’s worth’ in the phrase ‘to be more than one’s job’s worth’ ## [‘I wouldn’t piss on (a person) if (that person) were on fire’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/08/01/wouldnt-piss-on-fire/) _2026-08-01 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ ‘I feel intense dislike or contempt for (a person)’—USA, 1950—also occasionally used of miserliness ## [‘cardbordeaux’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/07/29/cardbordeaux/) _2026-07-29 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ bag-in-box wine—USA, 2006—a blend of ‘cardboard’ (in reference to the outer packaging of bag-in-box wine) and of ‘Bordeaux’ (in reference to the wine made in the Bordeaux region of France) ## [‘Chateau Cardboard’: meaning and origin](https://wordhistories.net/2026/07/28/chateau-cardboard/) _2026-07-28 · Pascal Tréguer · word histories_ bag-in-box wine—South Africa, 1983—based on the contrast between ‘château’ (referring to expensive wines of superior quality) and ‘cardboard’ (referring to inexpensive bag-in-box wines)