old as the hills en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˌəʊld əz‿ðə ˈhɪlz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˌoʊld əz‿ðə ˈhɪlz/ (General-American)
Etymology
Possibly a reference to Job 15:7 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Art thou the first man that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills?”
Meanings
-
(excessive, idiomatic, not-comparable, qualifier:simile) Extremely old.
A violent revolution cannot achieve anything except the inevitable results of violence, which are as old as the hills.
1937, Aldous Huxley, “Social Reform and Violence”, in Ends and Means: An Inquiry into the Nature of Ideals and into the Methods Employed for Their Realization, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 25:“[…]And for us to suppose we can have something great—ideas, work—it’s all dust and ashes.” “But all that’s as old as the hills, my boy!” “It is old; but do you know, when you grasp this fully, then somehow everything becomes of no consequence.[…]”
1901 [1878], chapter 7, in Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 4:His family is as old as the hills, and infinitely more respectable.
1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, “In Fashion”, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC, pages 6–7:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| older than the hills | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
wintry · moss-grown · old as the Pyramids · ancient · older than dirt · older than the Pyramids · gray · old as the hills · auld · old as time · aged · antediluvian · gamol · old · hoary · older than the Pyramids · venerable · ancient · eldern · cobwebby · age-old · age-old · olden · cobwebbed · old as the Pyramids · older than the hills · older than dirt · aged · eld · decrepit
Translations (20)
cy cyn hyned â phechod (extremely old) · es más viejo que Matusalén (extremely old) · sv gammal som gatan (extremely old) · gl vello coma o mundo (extremely old) · pl stary jak świat (extremely old) · pt mais velho que a Sé de Braga (extremely old) · fi vanha kuin taivas (extremely old) · es más viejo que mear de pie (extremely old) · it vecchio come il cucco (extremely old) · cy cyn hyned â Methuselah (extremely old) · es más visto que el tebeo (extremely old) · it vecchio come Matusalemme (extremely old) · ga chomh sean leis an gceo (extremely old) · cy cyn hyned â'r garreg (extremely old) · ga chomh sean leis na clocha glasa (extremely old) · ga chomh sean leis an díle (extremely old) · fr vieux comme le monde (extremely old) · hu vén, mint az országút (extremely old) · pt mais velho que o cagar em cócoras (extremely old) · ga chomh sean leis na cnoic (extremely old)