The Corpus of American Historical English is a searchable index of word usage in American printed material from 1810 to 2009. Powerful complex searches allow you to trace the appearance and evolution of words and phrases and even specific grammatical constructions, see trends in frequency, and plenty more. Start with the 5-Minute Tour.
posted by Miko on Jan 7, 2012 - 23 comments

The Lick (slyt).
posted by googly on Nov 15, 2011 - 20 comments

Best Grammar Blog of 2011 has been announced - A Clil To Climb. The competition was intense.
posted by unliteral on Oct 25, 2011 - 23 comments

English proverbs and their origins. [more inside]
posted by Brian B. on Apr 2, 2011 - 22 comments

My brother often informs me that I live 'the life of Riley'. The other night while re-reading Bill Bryson's Made in America I noted he mentioned the origin of the phrase was a popular 1880s song (possibly 1883) Is That Mr. Reilly? by Pat Rooney, in which "the hero speculates on what he would do with a fortune", and revived for use during WWI. Curious, I found several possible origins, though the song remains the top contender. Dictionary.com defines life of Riley as "a carefree, comfortable, and thoroughly enjoyable way of living. The term became popular and eventually 'The Life of Riley' was used as the title of an American radio sitcom (Wiki), followed by a movie and television series. It was used again with the alternate spelling 'The Life of Reilly' in 1995 as the title of a short film from Ireland, and in a 2006 movie starring Charles Nelson Reilly. In 2009 'The Life of Riley' was the name of a British television comedy. Now that's a phrase with staying power. It's the name of an Irish band, an online store in the UK, it was used by a sign maker, and quite obviously, as the moniker of several drinking establishments, such as the Life of Riley Tavern in Portland, Oregon; The Life of Reilly - Irish Pub & Restaurant in Baltimore, in the United Kingdom as the 'Life Of Riley' in Glasgow, Lanarkshire; and 'Life of Reilly Pub' in Harrow, Middlesex; and with a strange possessive at the 'Life of Reilly's Pub and Grill' in Long Beach, New York. Let's also not forget the mysterious MeFite LifeofRiley, whose stats stand entirely at zero. My main reason for writing all this is to ask: how many Mefites use this term? I do, but unfortunately my brother is wrong: I don't live the life of Riley. I might one day, if I win the lottery . . .
posted by bwg on Dec 18, 2010 - 29 comments

Hen Kerlien (or, hěn​ kě​ lián​). For when an anglophone needs a phrase that suggests a child walking alone in the world.
posted by Greg Nog on Oct 14, 2009 - 25 comments

I don’t understand the term “begs the question.” I know I use it incorrectly—or so I’ve been told—but I don’t know what I’m supposedly doing wrong. Can you explain? The Morning News' The Non-Expert tackles "the phrase that nobody understands."
posted by amyms on Feb 8, 2008 - 188 comments

Dave Barry posts a letter in his weblog encouraging users to submit poems to poetry.com containing the phrase "the dog ate mother's toes" under the penname of Freemont. Hilarity Ensues.
posted by woil on Jul 16, 2003 - 40 comments

Not sure if someone wants to beat you, or is asking for a date? Literal vreakdowns of American slang, including explanations of expressions found in movies and pop music. Don't miss the the literally Boschian body-parts slang or the insults, including the classic "I hate you, and if a horse had brought you here, I'd hate it just as much, if not more."
posted by blissbat on Dec 8, 2002 - 25 comments

Imagine my glee in finding Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable online and searchable. Then, imagine my glee in finding out that Tom and Jerry have a non-animated past. AND they're a drink. AND they're a play!
They (the originals, that is) used to be wildly popular. Now they're all but forgotten, except in cat / mouse form. What wildly popular "works" will our great grandchildren forget completely? (I had to wash my cache out with soap after that last one)
posted by condour75 on Oct 17, 2002 - 11 comments