The shell is the part of a bomb (or unit of artillery ordinance) that is released from the casing. In olden days cannons spewed both shot (solid matter) and shell (hollow projectiles, packed with explosive).AE once had more respect for munitions, or at least the casings. Decades ago, bombshell was a term used to describe a very attractive woman.
It was awful."stank on ice" ? What does it mean Fox ?
It may have had its origin in the black community, but around me it's a common expression understood and used by pretty much anyone.You may be confusing it with the slang "soandso was the bomb," which actually means something IS good.
"The bomb" is a phrase out of the black community that implies positivity.
Indeed. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.It may have had its origin in the black community, but around me it's a common expression understood and used by pretty much anyone.
Anyone under a certain age, you mean-- it's very recent.It may have had its origin in the black community, but around me it's a common expression understood and used by pretty much anyone.
If by very recent, you mean the late 1980s, then yes. I used it in high school, and if not, then at least in early college. I always thought it had its origin in "Valley Speak." **Anyone under a certain age, you mean-- it's very recent..
Could anybody rewrite the blue part easier for me?The shell is the part of a bomb (or unit of artillery ordinance) that is released from the casing. In olden days cannons spewed both shot (solid matter) and shell (hollow projectiles, packed with explosive).
"Shot and shell" is a set phrase for such ejecta-- casings came later, and are left behind, I guess you could call them rejecta. The phrase has the good grace to rhyme with "Hell," as anyone who's read Tennyson knows.
As for bombshells, they are different in shape from the casings that erstwhile encased them. Rather like dagmars-- which I'll bet you remember from bydone gaze. Named after a bombshell whose movies (had there been any) would more'n likely have been plain old bombs.
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Interesting. Do the British agree?Do the British actually say "That movie was a bomb"?
And, if they do, do they mean it in a good sense?
My experience of British English use of bomb in this way is pretty much confined to "xyz went down a bomb" which meant it was appreciated, or "xyz went like a bomb" meaning it went well (an interview, or exam, or some other event).