Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with origins

Why are writers people that wad ruled paper?

voronoi — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:04:28 -0800

What's the origin of the image of the frustrated writer? You know this character - crumpling his drafts into little balls and throwing them in the wastepaper basket, or staring endlessly at a blank page. What are some really early appearances of this image? If you don't know the exact origin, examples of it from film and television would help.

How can I recognise more languages?

devnull — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:16:00 -0800

How can I recognise more languages? How can I recognise where people come from? I'd like to be able to recognise more languages - not to understand them, but just to think "ah, that's Albanian". I'd also like to be able to do this for looking at people: "she looks like her family are from Namibia".

How can I achieve this? Is there some kind of CBT course I can do to help with this?

Can you help me figure out the pop-culture origins of the term "creep"/"creeper" (referring to an unsavory character)?

niles — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:32:38 -0800

Linguistics-Filter: Can you help me figure out the pop-culture origins of the term "creep"/"creeper" (referring to an unsavory character)? A friend and I were talking about the term "creeper" today, and we realized that this has mostly replaced the usage of "creep" among our social circles. Now we're trying to figure out how the usage of those two words started.
I know how to hunt down the traditional usage of this word, but the definition I'm working with seems to be a bit more of a pop culture thing, along with "shady" or "sketchy".
I'm wondering if anyone could point me to some resources that could be slightly more useful than Google Trends?

Quote about roses and thorns

Brzht — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:32:20 -0800

Looking for a quote about sensitivity -- something like "Only those who suffer the prick of the thorn can appreciate the beauty of the rose." Anybody know?

Great seats at a bad show

Brzht — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:57:02 -0800

Have you ever heard the expression "Great seats at a bad show" or "Great tickets for a bad show" or something like that? Do you remember where you heard it?

You entitled kids get off my lawn!

dw — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:48:02 -0800

What's the origin of the phrase "special (little) snowflake?" It's a meme expressing the idea that we have treated modern kids as so special and unique that they have a natural sense of entitlement. I've seen it occur with and without the word "little."

I haven't been able to find where the phrase comes from. My Google-fu is failing me.

The hunter should probably give credit where credit is due

antifuse — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 02:41:54 -0800

What is the origin of the term MILF? I know the first time I ever heard it was in American Pie. A google search for anything involving MILF yields nothing but porn sites... So does anybody have any references to MILF that are pre-1999? None of the etymology dictionaries I've found online have entries for MILF. I'm just curious as to who should be given credit for providing the world with such a well-used phrase.

Words for where you're from

poweredbybeard — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 10:17:26 -0800

LanguageFilter: Cypriot. Cairene. Dubliner. These are beautiful, and I'd like more. Name some favourite or exotic words denoting city of origin or residence. And what is the word for this type of word? Used as noun or adjective, doesn't matter. I'm having trouble with a Google search for what these words might be called, so if anyone knows, do share.

Wherever we go, there we are, but where from?

unSane — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:29:55 -0800

What is the origin of the saying "Wherever we go, there we are"? The Google search throws up about 100 results, but no clue as the origin of this increasingly commonplace saying.

Hive mind, do your stuff!!

(if you have a specific source, try to date it so we can figure out what's the earliest).

Finish this joke: "A Rabbi, a Priest, and a Minister Walk Into a Bar..."

TonyRobots — Sun, 07 May 2006 14:51:15 -0800

Does anyone actually know a joke that starts: "So a Rabbi, a Priest, and a Minister Walk Into a Bar..."? Or is it just a meta-joke? A googling of that phrase turns up countless results, but all seem to be simply references to some sort of imagined ur-joke -- none are jokes themselves. The "What is this, some kind of joke" punchline doesn't count. That's a metajoke. But does anyone know any real ones? Is there a basis for this common joke set-up trope?

Where does "for those of you following along at home" come from?

AgentRocket — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 10:14:54 -0800

What's the origin of the phrase "For those of you [playing/following/scoring] along at home?" I just used this expression and am curious where it comes from. My best guesses are old school television/radio game shows, or maybe radio baseball. (Though I have no evidence, I particularly like the baseball idea because it gives me a warm, fuzzy picture of a prototypical 1940s kid listening along to the game and keeping a box score).

Google gives 42,600 results for "playing along at home," 27,300 for "following along at home," and 199 for "scoring along at home," so perhaps my theory is bunk.

Can anyone provide me with the answer?

Is there a word like widow or widower to describe a surviving twin?

Frank Grimes — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 14:37:01 -0800

Is there a word like widow or widower to describe a surviving twin? My friend thinks I should know this since I'm a twin. She wants to know because the "twinspan" in New Orleans has only one surviving span.

Where does the phrase "X, Y, Z Oh my!" come from

DangerIsMyMiddleName — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 16:46:29 -0800

Where does the phrase "X, Y, Z Oh my!" come from? I read it all over the web, but I don't get the reference.