Dictionary

cast-iron stomach en · NOUN

Etymology

First use appears c. 1844. See cite below.

Meanings

1. (figuratively) An exceptionally strong and resilient digestive system capable of consuming almost almost any type of food or drink without becoming ill or experiencing indigestion.
   • He must have a cast iron stomach too. He volunteered to finish off any spare sandwiches or apple cores or even orange peel, if there were any, going begging. 2011, Helen Evans, Reluctant Heroes, page 19:
   • Carroll, with his normally cast-iron stomach, began to complain of stomach pains. 2009, Norman Barasch, The Joy of Laughter: My Life as a Comedy Writer, page 104:
   • An animal man, with a cast-iron stomach, or, perhaps quite as often a dyspeptic, with a suffering stomach and ruined health, will say, “don’t keep thinking about your food; it will give you the dyspepsia. 1863, Dio Lewis, Weak Lungs and how to Make Them Strong, page 75:
   • I love to travel and to shop, and I've got a cast-iron stomach, so I gain about ten pounds every trip. 1989 January, Texas Monthly, volume 17, number 1, page 125:
   • His Herculean frame was surmounted by a strong head, and contained a sort of cast-iron stomach, on which liquid fire could make no impression. 1844, James Ballantine, The Miller of Deanhaugh, page 14:

Forms