more than one can shake a stick at
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Unknown. American English, in use since about 1800.[1]
Adjective
more than one can shake a stick at (comparative form only)
- Occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many.
- 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 16:
- "[L]aziness, cousin, laziness,—which ruins more souls than you can shake a stick at."
- 1883, Edward Payson Roe, His Sombre Rivals: A Story of the Civil War, ch. 39:
- "[H]e's laid out more 'Federates dan he can shake a stick at."
- 1910, Jack London, Burning Daylight, ch. 16:
- "I've got more companies than you can shake a stick at. There's the Alameda & Contra Costa Land Syndicate, the Consolidated Street Railways, the Yerba Buena Ferry Company, the United Water Company, the Piedmont Realty Company, the Fairview and Portola Hotel Company, and half a dozen more that I've got to refer to a notebook to remember."
- 2004 Aug. 15, Ben Stein, "For Sale: The Ultimate Status Symbol," New York Times, (retrieved 12 June 2014):
- There are more billionaires than you can shake a stick at.
- 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 16:
Usage notes
- The modified noun is placed between more and than.
Translations
References
- “shake” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
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