beer and skittles
English
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editEtymology
editFound as early as 1837, in Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, where it appears in the form, “It’s a reg’lar holiday to them—all porter and skittles”. The most common form, as a negative admonition, appears to have been popularized by Thomas Hughes in Tom Brown's School Days (1857, see quotation below).
Pronunciation
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Noun
editbeer and skittles pl (plural only)
- (chiefly UK, idiomatic) Fun times; pleasure and leisure.
- Synonyms: peaches and cream, bed of roses, bowl of cherries, sunshine and rainbows; see also Thesaurus:pleasure
- 1857, Thomas Hughes, chapter 2, in Tom Brown's School Days:
- Well, well, we must bide our time. Life isn't all beer and skittles—but beer and skittles, or something better of the same sort, must form a good part of every Englishman's education.
- 1911, Anthony Hope, chapter 22, in Mrs. Maxon Protests, page 259:
- Being a soldier's wife isn't all beer and skittles.
- 2012 March 24, John Walsh, “The perils of reviewing restaurants”, in The Independent[1]:
- His plight reveals a truth that's often obscured by the envy of newspaper readers; that it's not all beer and skittles in restaurant-critic land.
- 2022 October 5, Nick Brodrick, “Pendolinos: a huge role to play”, in RAIL, number 967, page 41:
- Such highly intensive deployment left little wriggle room, something with which Dunster is all too familiar. "It hasn't all been beer and skittles," he says dryly.
Usage notes
edit- Often used in the negative, "not all beer and skittles".
Derived terms
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editfun times
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