Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gold in them thar hills

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.67 in modern English

Syllables: gold in them thar hills
IPA

32

Scrabble Score

19

Letters

1

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An opportunity for something to be profitable or beneficial.

Uncountable

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see gold, in, them thar, hills.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"There really is gold in them thar hills. During the 2000 election cycle, zip-code areas on average yielded slightly more than $35,000 in political contributions, while residents of Beverly Hills, 90210, ponied up slightly more than $6.2 million."
"I think there's gold in them thar hills if we get the chance."

Etymology

Originally used in the phrase there’s gold in them thar hills, possibly a misquote of the phrase there’s millions in it (viz. the North Georgia mountains) uttered in Mark Twain's novel The American Claimant (1892) by Colonel Mulberry Sellers, a character thought to be based on Dahlonega Mint assayer M. F. Stephenson.

Usage

Uncountable

Questions

What does gold in them thar hills mean?: An opportunity for something to be profitable or beneficial.
Where does gold in them thar hills come from?: Originally used in the phrase there’s gold in them thar hills, possibly a misquote of the phrase there’s millions in it (viz. the North Georgia mountains) uttered in Mark Twain's novel The American Claimant (1892) by Colonel Mulberry Sellers, a character thought to be based on Dahlonega Mint assayer M. F. Stephenson.

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