old chestnut
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.46 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- ""How's the speech to-night?" he asked, languidly; "same old chestnuts, I suppose." "As this is Mr. Grayson's second speech," replied Harley, sharply, "it is a little early to call anything that he says 'same old chestnuts.' Besides, I don't think that repetition will ever be one of his faults. Why haven't you been here?""
- ""Are you trying to pull my leg? If I say 'No,' will you tell me that in that case I shall be very hungry by bedtime, or something? I suppose that old chestnut has just got round to your club. Have you been electing Noah an honorary member?""
Etymology
Originally as chestnut, with “old” for emphasis. Popularized US 1880s, particularly Northeast and Midwest, with various theories propounded. Also credited to viking tales about when they first came to England and saw forests full of chestnut trees, becoming disorientated and walking in circles while citing "We've already walked past that old chestnut" A commonly cited theory, viewed by the Oxford English Dictionary as “plausible” and cited by Brewer’s, is that it was coined by Boston comedic actor William Warren Jr., quoting from 1816 English melodrama The Broken Sword by William Dimond. One of the characters in the play is a boor, and when once recounting a tale mentions a cork tree, which is corrected by the character Pablo as “A chestnut. I have heard you tell the tale these 27 times.” This line was then apparently quoted at a dinner party by Warren in response to a boor there, and proved popular. Note that William Warren Sr. had previously played Pablo on stage, but died in 1832, so the phrase was presumably popularized by the son, William Warren Jr.