During the prohibition era, many people became ill or even were killed due to poisonous home-made alcoholic mixtures known as "hooch" or "shine" (short for moonshine). A rumrunner/bootlegger named McCoy had a good three year run using a ship to import genuine alcohol to the united states, and became famous for carrying only the highest quality liquors. His cargo became referred to as the "Real McCoy", and the term became a common way of inquireing as to the authenticity of liquor products, and is commonly used today to inquire as to the authenticity of just about anything. McCoy was intercepted and arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1923.
term used in the 1920's during prohibition to assure that the liquor you were purchasing on the black market was real; Making suresomething is original, real, or authentic.
A sunburn or suntan focused on the left arm. It is caused by the left side of the body being the only half that gets exposed to sunlight while driving. Presumably, it would be located on the right side of the body in countries where they drive on the left side of the road.
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”
Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing peecalculus.