put a nickel in someone
v. phr.— «It came from the days of the Nickelodeon (very early 20th century) and was retailed to me by my grandmama. People would pop a nickle into the Nickelodeon (player piano) and a frantically energetic and chipper song would play. So, when someone around her (usually me or one of my brothers) was all hopped up on gumdrops or something and talking a mile a minute, she’d say “Who put a nickel in you tonight?!”» —“Good night’s sleep” by Darla Vladschyk in Nova Scotia, Canada Usenet: alt.religion.kibology Nov. 23, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A South Carolina listener recalls that his father referred to the younger man’s girlfriend with a term that sounded like jing floogy or jing floogie. The word floogie has long been a synonym for floozy, a term applied to women, and often...
Over the centuries, the meaning of happiness has traveled a long way. Today we speak of the pursuit of happiness, but it used to be that the word happiness suggested something that occurs only by chance–something that simply… happens. Plus, the joys...