Robert McNeil opens a column in the Scotsman (which is payfer) with:

MANY readers - and I use the word "many" in its original Etruscan sense of "hardly any or no" - have asked me to intervene in the deteriorating situation with the young royals.

... that tweaked something in my brain and I note that he's used the device before:

I have, of late, neglected this questionable half-hour, even though it is said to be the highlight of the parliamentary week. And I use the word "highlight" in its original Etruscan sense of "a tedious interlude, a load of cack".

... and:

But I shall miss the old place. I shall miss the brisk march up the Mound (I use the word "brisk" in its original Etruscan sense of "tiring, knackering") and, on a fair day, stopping for a seat outside the two gothic towers to take in the wonderful view across the Firth of Forth to Fife and green distant hills.

So ... is this a McNeilism (if so, I like it), or is it a 'wider' idiom/expression (in which case I still like it) ...