Where did the phrase "yuppers" come from ?
820712
Yup = yuppers\nCop = coppers\nPup = puppers\nFlip = flippers (not really)\nLip = lippers (no!)\nSup = suppers (no!)\n\nIt is just a 'pet' or funny way of saying a word.  Seems to only work with one syllable words ending in p.  I guess....
141560
Nobody actually knows where that phrase comes from.  There is an urban legend about where it came from that can be found here: http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm
1137946
I think they're just playing around with the words. There is no such thing as "radio free" candy. The term "radio free" was started when the U.S. began a broadcasting system to Europe in the 50s called "Radio Free Europe" to promote the U.S. way of life and "democratic" values. It was meant to get Europeans to embrace the American way of life and demand change across the continent. It was supposed to give them a taste of what being "free" is all about. The term "Radio Free..." has been used for a bunch of things, mostly as a parody of Radio Free Europe
8
Not sure if this is the origin, but I think it was popularized in the 1989 film "Tango & Cash". After Tango, played by Sylvester Stallone, and Cash, portrayed by Kurt Russell, were thrown into jail and setup in a failed jailbreak attempt, the bad guy Yves Perret (Jack Pallance) locked them in the boiler room with a bunch of felons Tango & Cash had put in jail. Prior to unleashing a can of whoop-ass, their conversation was as follows:\nGabriel Cash: I don't know about you, but I have an aversion to getting F.U.B.A.R...\nRay Tango: What's F.U.B.A.R.?\nGabriel Cash: Fucked-Up Beyond All Recognition.
726125
Well it does come from the song Yankee Doodle Dandy but the question is where does Yankee come from. You Yanks called us Limeys and that is because our sailors used to eat limes to protect against scurvy on their long sea voyages.\nBTW the Cockney (London Dialect) for a Yank is a  "Septic" from "Septic Tank" which in true Cockney rhyming slang  form the "Tank" rhymes with Yank but the first un-rhyming part is used, Apple and Pears meanind Stairs becomes Apples, Currant Bun meaning Sun becomes Currant,Frog and Toad meaning  Road becomes Frog.\nSo 'the Septic went up the Apples and had a Lemon' translates to 'the Septic Tank went up the Apple and Pears to have a Lemon Squash' i.e. 'the Yank went up the stairs and had a wash!'. Whole conversations can be had using Cockney rhyming slang!!\nGuess it doesn't answer your question but goes to show how bizarre our language is!
86615
It often implies that you have made a serious mistake, but more strictly it indicates that something you have done (or some turn of events) has left you looking extremely embarrassed or foolish.\nIt feels like one of those expressions that have been around for ever, but the evidence suggest that it’s an American expression from the middle of last century (its first known appearance was in an American television series about 1951). It’s possible, though, that it is somewhat older, though I haven’t been able to find it in my large collection of out-of-copyright e-texts, which suggests it is more recent than the 1920s.\nI know of two possibilities for where it came from. My assumption to start with was that it was a comment on a minor social gaffe at a meal, when poor manners or sloppy eating left egg around your mouth. The late John Ciardi, however, suggested an origin in the lower and more rowdy kind of theatrical performance, in which an incompetent actor would have been pelted with eggs and forced off the stage.\nAfter I wrote the first version of this piece, subscriber Cal Clifford put a possible new perspective on he expression by mentioning egg-sucking dogs: “Occasionally, a trusted, working farm dog would develop the bad habit of taking eggs from nests and eating them, turning himself from asset into liability.” I found several examples of the term, including this from Glengarry School Days by Ralph Connor, dated 1902: “His chief business was the doing away with dogs of ill-repute in the country; vicious dogs, sheep-killing dogs, egg-sucking dogs, were committed to Alan’s dread custody, and often he would be seen leading off his wretched victims to his den in the woods, whence they never returned.” And in Nan Sherwood at Pine Camp, by Annie Roe Carr (of about 1919): “He’s a miserable, fox-faced scoundrel, and I’ve no more use for him than I have for an egg-sucking dog.” So it is just possible that the expression might be a figurative extension from that of a dog found with egg around its muzzle, mute evidence of depravity.
492451
The expression "Put up your dukes" comes from old Cockney rhyming slang: "Put up your forks. Put up your Duke of Yorks." (forks refer to fingers and hence your hands)\n\nHowever there is a line of thought that the phrase "put up your dukes" and "duke it out" refer to the name of the God of Boxing, Polydeuces
945503
I always thought it meant "Mmmm.....'kay."  Like Hmmm....Okay. Or maybe kinda like what that counselor character on South Park is always saying!
18371
It is an idiom intended to mean "be careful, pay attention to detail"  it has morphed, in recent times, to mean many other things including "be polite".\n\nThere are several theories about it's origin, but the one I believe makes the most sense is - mind your Pints and Quarts.  Meaning to keep track of what you order in a pup so you are not over charged.
509529
1838, Amer.Eng., "some kind iof alcoholic drink," of unknown origin. \n\nOne of that class of words (e.g. dingus, doohickey, gadget, gizmo, thingumabob) which are conjured up to supply names for items whose proper names are unknown or not recollected. \n\nUsed at various periods for "money," "a professional tramp," "a muffin," "a typographical ornament," "male genitalia," "a Chinese," "an Italian," "a woman who is neither your sister nor your mother," and "a foolish person in authority." \n\nPopularized in sense of "foolish person" by TV show "All in the Family" (1971), though this usage dates from 1905.
1113663
The etymology of the word booger baffles scholars. Since it has always been considered semi-vulgar or at least childish, it has been used in few written sources. Furthermore, in the past the word booger has been used to mean many things, and has often overlapped with the terms boogie, bogey, and bugger. The earliest usage of the word is as an alternate spelling of the vulgarism bugger. Booger was first said to be slang for "dried mucus" in the 1892 Dialect Notes; boogie was said to mean the same thing in the 1891 Dictionary of American Regional English. Its appearance in slang dictionaries indicates that it had probably been used for some time in the United States before the 1890s. Both books said that mainly "school children" used the words.\n\nBy the middle of the twentieth century, both booger and boogie were commonly being used to mean dried mucus. As late as the 1970s, both words seem to have been (relatively) acceptable. Since then, however, booger has apparently become more common in American English. This may be due to its appearance in legitimate print media: Bill Watterson claims to be the first cartoonist to use the word booger in a syndicated comic strip, while Dave Barry has pioneered its use in newspaper columns, both in the 1980s. Rapper Biz Markie recorded a humorous song "Pickin' Boogers" [1] which appeared on his album Goin Off. In the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, Dr. Johnny Fever was fired from another radio station for saying "booger" on the air (under the premise that it was an objectionable word).\n\n\nOR if you mispelled the word BURGER\n\nA burger or "burger sandwich" is a type of sandwich which consists of a hamburger bun or similar type of round bread, and a primary filling of a meat or vegetarian patty. The word "burger" is an abbreviation of the word "hamburger" (see the hamburger entry for an explanation of the hamburger's origins and history).\n\nBurgers made with beef are traditionally known as hamburgers, though, due to the profusion of burger types over the last few decades, are also often referred to these days as beef burgers. Other meats such as chicken or fish can be used, and the sandwich may contain a portion of meat that is not formed into a patty. For example, a turkey burger uses ground turkey meat, a chicken burger uses ground chicken meat, a buffalo burger uses ground meat from a bison, and a veggie burger (alternately called a tofu burger. vegiburger or garden burger) uses a meat substitute (for example, tofu, TVP, seitan (wheat gluten), or an assortment of vegetables, nuts or soy protein, which are ground up and mashed into patties). A Jersey burger is a hamburger and fish (filet or burger) in one bun.\n\nSome alternatives to hamburgers are marketed as being heathier than their beef based competitors, and a niche market exists for exotic burgers such as buffalo burgers.\n\nThere are usually other accompaniments or condiments piled onto the meat portion. These might include any combination of cheese (a cheeseburger is not a burger made primarily from cheese, but rather a hamburger with a slice of cheese in it), vegetables (lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper, pickles) and sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, etc.)\n\nThere are two independent definitions of what differentiates a burger from a sandwich:\n\nBurgers use processed meat (or imitation meat), regardless of the type of bread. \nBurgers use a "burger" bun, regardless of the filling (see: "burgerless burger"). \nBurgers are usually made from ground meat or meat substitute, then re-shaped to form patties, cooked (if applicable) and eaten.
598924
My guess is that the saying evolved from the expression "Holy Lord!" or "Holy God!".  Over time, language has become more coarse and somebody felt like tossing in the ol' S-word instead of "God" and it stuck.
6952
You may have read the gossip sweeping the Internet on the origin of the word picnic. Some claim that picnic is derived from lynching parties of blacks. This is incorrect.\n\nInstead, the origin on the word picnic is French (piquenique) and was invented long before the atrocities towards blacks took place in America. This French word - piquenique - signifies an outing with food - similar to the word's meaning in English. At these piqueniques, the attendees would all bring food to the occasion, similar to what we call potlucks today. The outdoor concept of a picnic did not originate until the 19th century.\n\nSo, how did this word originate? We are unsure what the word pique actually means. There are two options: leisurely eating (picking) or a delicacy of food. Nique was selected since it rhymed with Pique.\n\nHistorians have found this French word in references outside of the French language as early as 1748 and into English by around 1800.
678663
I'm a white who grew up in a federal housing project until\nI was 12. I'm a little more hep to Black slang than the\naverage White. The term "cracker" is short for \n"cracker _ss". Blacks mock Whites for having a relatively\nflat butt, like a cracker. Whites used to mock Blacks for\nhaving a relatively rounder butt with the slang \n"High Pockets".  \n  The term "Honky" is a little more complex. Originally the\nword was "bohunk", meaning a non-skilled laborer. Whites\nused the term on newly arriving white immigrants in a\nderogatory manner. The term downgraded to "hunky". Growing\nup in an ethnic industrial town in Connecticut I heard it\na lot. My grandparents were hunkies. Blacks picked up\non it since it must have been a relief to not be the only\nracial group to be labeled and they used it to refer to\nall whites. The word further evolved from "hunky" to "honky" by blacks . Then it was eventually dropped from use by whites as older white immigrant generations were replaced by mainstream blue and white collar whites.
555893
It's slang from the UK & Ireland, a made up phrase to avoid cursing when surprised or annoyed.\n\nIt's also a slang term for a sexual position.
694525
Wittles is the character's mispronunciation of vittles (food). Vittles is itself derived from a mispronunciation of victuals.
128866
The Word of the Day site suggests this phrase has more possible origins than any other -- and nobody knows just what to believe. The only thing everyone can agree upon is that the idiom was first cited by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1779 with the meaning of watching your step and being polite. \nOne simple explanation is that it's a childish abbreviation for minding your "pleases" and "thank yous." Considering how often kids are told to "mind your Ps and Qs" with the goal of being more polite, this explanation makes sense. \n\nTwo popular theories revolve around the mirror-image quality of the two letters. The phrase was recorded in 1830 as meaning "to learn one's letters." It was aimed at children learning to hand-write the lowercase letters p and q, which are quite similar. Another explanation along the same lines comes from the world of printing. Typesetters used blocks of type that were mirror images of the letters, so it would be easy to mix up lowercase p and q. This origin would give "mind your Ps and Qs" a connotation of being careful and paying sharp attention. \n\nAnother oft-mentioned source of the phrase is old pubs where beer and ale was served in pints and quarts. The barkeeper tracked patrons' drinking totals by marking "P" for pints and "Q" for quarts. Both the barkeeper and the drinker would want to keep careful track of those Ps and Qs so they knew what the final bill would be. Also, the drinker might want to pay attention to how much he drank so as to keep his own behavior under control. \n\nWorld Wide Words notes that this puzzling and quirky idiom has inspired some fanciful explanations. In the 17th century, the expression "P and Q" meant "prime quality," which might have influenced the Ps and Qs phrase. Some suggest the saying came from a French dancing master's instructions to perform the dance figures pieds and queues properly. Or it could be an admonishment to sailors to keep their navy peacoats clean around their tarred queues or pigtails. But these derivations seem pretty far-fetched.