| Basket Case: This term probably orginated during World War 1 to refer to young soldiers who had lost all their limbs,becoming quadriplegic and thus totally incapable of getting around on their own or doing anything for themselves. Dalton Trumbo's harrowing novel Johnny Got His Gun (1939) tells the story of one such 'basket case' Today, a basketcase refers dismissively to any person or even nation considered so inept as to be utterly helpless and hopeless. ~Facts on File Dictionary of Cultural and Historical Allusions. bogart: To "bogart" is to hog or to take more than the fair share of something, or it could mean to bully, act tough or to be belligerent. [After actor Humphrey Bogart (1900-1957) who played tough-guy movie roles.] usage: "You watch (Marcus) White play in games. He doesn't want one rebound. He wants all the rebounds. ... 'He bogarts a rebound,' Calhoun said." Jeff Jacobs; Clock Ticking For Huskies; The Hartford Courant; Dec 6, 2003. bra burner: Some activists for woman's rights have regarded the bra ( brassiere in it's original form) as a "demeaning symbol" of the way women dressed (or felt compelled to dress) to appeal to men. Spurred on by men who burned their draft cards at anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in the 1970's, some of the more zealous advocates burned their bras in public--a symbol of their liberation. "Bra-burner" is a pejorative term for any militant proponent of women's rights. |
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