The Battle of Normandy, which began with the Anglo-American assault on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), was significant because it marked the opening of the Western front in Europe. Nazi Germany, which previously had to contend only with the Soviet Union in the East (and, to a far lesser extent, the United States in Italy) was forced to fight a two-front war. After establishing a beachhead on D-Day, the Allies drove fairly quickly through northern France, liberating Paris. After a daring and massive German counterattack was driven back in the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944 and early 1945, Germany was permanently placed on the defensive. The Normandy invasion thus marked not only a major turning point in the war, but a real death blow to Germany, which faced invading armies from the east and the west.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Comments
Post a Comment