the white man's burden
the white man's burden
the task, believed by white colonizers to be incumbent upon them, of imposing Western civilization on the black inhabitants of European colonies – dated
The white man's burden comes from Rudyard Kipling's poem of that title (1899), originally referring specifically to the United States’ role in the Philippines.
Related Idioms and Phrases :
bums on seats
the audience at a theatre, cinema or other entertainment, viewed as a source of income – informal
give someone the bum's rush = get the bum's rush
forcibly eject someone (or be forcibly ejected) from a place or gathering
abruptly dismiss someone (or be abruptly dismissed) for a poor idea or performance - chiefly North American
1998 - Spectator – When James Cameron wrote an uproariously funny piece about the hotel's iniquities. he was promptly given the bum's rush.
on the bum
traveling rough and with no fixed home
vagrant - North American
things that go bump in the night
ghosts, supernatural beings – informal
This expression comes from The Cornish or West Country Litany : From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us! The phrase is used as a humorous way of referring to nocturnal disturbances of all sorts.
bumper-to-bumper
very close together, as cars in traffic jam
(chiefly of an insurance policy) comprehensive, all inclusive
have a bun in the oven
be pregnant – informal
take the bun
be the most remarkable – informal
1925 - P. G. Wodehouse - Letter - Of all the poisonous, foul, ghastly places, Cannes takes the biscuit with absurd ease.
bunch of fives
a fist, a punch – British informal
a bundle of nerves
a person who is extremely timid or tense – informal
a bundle of laughs = a bundle of fun
something extremely amusing or pleasant – informal
drop your bundle
panic or lose one's self-control - Australian & New Zealand informal
This expression comes from an obsolete sense of bundle meaning swag or a traveler’s or miner's bundle of personal belongings.
go a bundle on
be very keen on or fond of - British informal
In this idiom, bundle is being used in the late 19th-century US slang sense of a bundle of money, i.e. a large sum. To go a bundle on was originally early 20th-century slang for betting a large sum of money on a horse.
1968 - Adam Diment - Bang Bang Birds - I don't go a bundle on being told I'm a pro.
go bung
die
fail or go bankrupt - Australian & New Zealand informal
In this sense bung comes from Yagara, an extinct Aboriginal language.
1951 - J. Devanny - Travel in North Queensland - The stations would go bung without the ADOS - one of the missionaries told me.
give it a burl
attempt to do something - Australian & New Zealand informal
1953 - T. A. G. Hungerford - Riverslake - Well you want to give it a burl—you want to come?
the white man's burden :
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