10 JULY 1993, Page 45

No. 1789: False origin

Jack Robinson, Murphy's Law, Buggins's turn, the real McCoy, the life of Reilly . . . the originals of such proverbial characters are sometimes successfully explained in dictionaries and sometimes wildly conjec- tured. You are invited to offer fanciful origins, in the manner, say, of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, of two such characters who have become part of our daily language. Maximum 150 words. Entries to 'Competition No. 1789' by Thursday, 22 July.