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 #2 (permalink) Thu Nov 02, 2006 16:42 pm Idiom: 'from pillar to post' |
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Hi Tamara
I'd never heard the expression "from pillar to post" before... even though I see that it's got an entry in both the American Heritage Dictionary and Webster's . :shock:
Webster's gives this definition:
from one place or one predicament to another
Amy
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Yankee
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| #3 (permalink) Thu Nov 02, 2006 19:43 pm Idiom: 'from pillar to post' |
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from pillar to post
Meaning:
· If something is going from pillar to post, it is moving around in a meaningless way,
from one disaster to another.
Category:
· General
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/from+pillar+to+post.html
| Quote: |
| Phrase pillar to post is c.1600, originally of tennis, exact meaning obscure. |
:)
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=from+pillar+to+post&searchmode=none
… Thanks, Amy.
Actually, I’ve now found what I was seeking.
I luckily happened to be not the unique person on the Internet, who asked the question. :)
One (old) reason for my question was that in my first language the saying ‘from one disaster to another’ (из огня да в полымя) is quite popular :)
Another one (more fresh :)) – my today’s encounter with the phrase
‘His wife was described as a ‘pillar of the community’.
… :)
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Tamara
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Joined: 25 May 2006
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Location: UK
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