Examples of use:
“Eddie Cook, 58, said: ‘I told my wife I would be home by 8 - I think she’ll go spare if I’m any later than that.’”
“I’ve never actually heard of a librarian going spare over an overdue book, nor have I experienced it.”
“When the decision was handed down, some farmers and commentators and politicians went spare.”
An explanation for this sense of “go spare” is offered by The Word Detective. He states that in the 1940s, it was slang for losing one’s job, and that the above meaning appeared in the 1950s, being a normal emotional reaction to becoming unemployed.
We also say that something is “going spare” if it’s no longer required.
e.g. “Meanwhile Leeds had 524 places going spare, and Liverpool had 591.”
Photo credit: Si Hammond
No comments:
Post a Comment