Meaning: To impart a spin to something in an effort to make it hard to control, usually a ball in sports like tennis.
Example: Your cue shot is dangerous when you put english on it.
Origin: "The English way" or "English" comes from the British game of Snooker. Snooker is a forerunner to the game of Billiards or pool. Similar to pool, Snooker uses cue sticks, balls, and a table however the table has no pockets. A technique used in Snooker is to impart an unusual spin to the ball to alter its travel.
The phrase has since been grandfathered into many sports, including basketball, tennis, golf and baseball, among others.
Example: My lifelong dream of making my fortune by cornering the lint market just didn't pan out.
Origin: Early prospectors panned for gold. They would swirl a mix of soil and water around the pan.
Because Gold is very dense, with a little skill the pan could be swirled at just the right speed to allow the gold to settle to the bottom of the pan, while the dirt and low-density particles would wash over the side. This would continue until there was nothing left but gravel -- and maybe a little speck of gold if it "panned out"!
Example: You want to have children! We can't afford them, we don't have a pot to piss in.
Origin: In medieval London, people did not have indoor plumbing. It was common to use a chamber pot as an indoor toilet. The chamber pot could then be dumped out a window into the street gutter below. A person who did not have a "pot to piss in" was poor indeed.
In medieval times the word "piss" was not considered at all vulgar. It was not until Victorian England that words such as piss were deemed vulgar.
Even today phrases like "pot to piss in" and "Full of Piss and Vinegar" are somehow considered to be generally acceptable and only moderately crude.
Meaning: To party and celebrate with enthusiasm in bars and restaurants.
Example: At the end of final exams college students have traditionally gone out to paint the town red. College students traditionally also do this at the throughout the semester.
Origin: This phrase originated with the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers used to wash the walls of a newly-conquered town or city with the blood of the vanquished. This was usually accomplished with a great degree of gusto, hence the term being applied to a great night on the town.
Alternatively, "Paint the town red" is a reference to the money spent in the process. The party goer ends up in the red paying for the celebration. See the related phrase "in the red".
Alternatively, A joke that the resulting blood-shot eyes resulting from partying and drinking might actually color one's field of vision red.
Interestingly the movie "High Plains Drifter" starring Clint Eastwood actually had a scene in which the entire town was painted red, literally. In this Western, Clint played a tough character who sought revenge on the town folk that had wronged him.
Clint basically manhandled and had his way with the entire town. In a dramatic scene he had them paint all the buildings red - and change the name of the town to Hell.
Example: Stop your pissing and moaning and go to school.
Origin: Gonorrhea is common venereal disease that causes a burning sensation while urinating. There are plenty of stories and jokes about the "clap", as it is called, and moaning from the pain caused by the burn.
