What is the etymology of the term "private eye"?
Try to figure this one out, Miss Private Eye! [Note: it is unclear as to whether this date is for the character or the actual text] The term private eye is used to convey spying by Balzac, in the 1928 Cousin Bette. Lisbeth, whom the baron endeavored to ally with Madame Marneffe, so as to keep a private eye upon the household ...

Is it derogatory or offensive to call a detective a dick?
The most pejorative implied sense of the word I've taken away from detective fiction comes from the slighting way police officers use the term to refer to dime-a-dozen private eyes. In that way, the word "shamus" is also used equally pejoratively.

Why are detectives/investigators referred to as "gumshoe"s?
The senses of gumshoe leading to the 'private detective' sense all have to do with the idea that rubber-soled shoes give the wearer the ability to walk stealthily. The earliest examples show gumshoe used as an adjective meaning 'being a stealthy or surreptitious thief or tracker', and thus 'being a plainclothes police officer or a private ...

Origin of "eye teeth" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
The term eye teeth goes back to at least the 17th century. The earliest I found is in the fascinating 1657 Nature's Cabinet Unlock'd by Thomas Browne: And the 1660 Lexicon Tetraglotton, an English-French-Italian-Spanish Dictionary by James Howell shows the translations all include eye: Give [...] eye-teeth

What are word combinations similar to the effect of "Sofa King" called ...
The British satirical magazine Private Eye runs letters with assumed names that can be read as words, and that section is titled Pseudo Names. I keep sending you examples of witty names that I keep making up, but you never print them.

expressions - Where does the phrase "on the lam" come from? - English ...
In his 1886 ''30 Years a Detective,'' Allan Pinkerton, the first ''private eye,'' explains an operation of pickpockets: ''After he secures the wallet, he will utter the word 'lam!' This means to let the man go and to get out of the way as soon as possible.''

Non-medical or slang synonyms for female reproductive organs
Another modern euphemistic term, which has an unsuspecting long history, is private parts it evolved from the sixteenth-century privy parts, Middle English privy member, and 13th century privy chose, the word chose being French for thing.

What is the word for a person who never listens to other people's ...
Narrow-minded (“having restricted or rigid views, and being unreceptive to new ideas”), small-minded (“Selfish, petty; constrained in thought, limited in scope of consideration, not mindful of the big picture”), and previously-mentioned close-minded (“unreceptive to new ideas or information; not open to any agreement”) are all relevant, as are some of their synonyms like hidebound ...

pronunciation - How are "i.e." and "e.g." pronounced? - English ...
While most English speakers will recognize the meaning of "eye ee" when spoken, saying "that is" is clearer. e.g. is used for providing one or many examples and should be spoken "for example" . While i.e. and e.g. are relatively common, other abbreviated or initialized latinisms, such as viz. , are less frequent and their English translation ...

phrases - "personal issue", "private issue", "personal affair", or ...
"Private issue" would be somewhat misused here, because it is more typically used with regard to a product (often stocks or bonds) that are "issued" in a non-public way. ("Private matter," on the other hand, might possibly be used if you want to emphasize that the matter is not merely personal, but is in fact something you do not want to reveal ...