Phrases & Sayings

Meaning of Phrases

What is the origin of the phrase. Knee high to a grasshopper?

CWUGWENT Thurs 24/04/08 10:21

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Quizmonster
Thurs 24/04/08
11:23

'Knee high to a grasshopper' first appeared in an American publication in the 1850s. However, the grasshopper was preceded by a toad, a mosquito, a frog and a bee in such phrases indicating lack of height going back to 1814.

Quizmonster
Thurs 24/04/08
16:02

Well, the origin of all the 'knee-high' phrases I referred to above was people's perceived need to find a form of words which expressed how short/tiny someone was.
As for the first recorded occasion of the 'grasshopper' one - ie it appeared in print - that was in The Democratic Review No 28 published in the USA in 1851.

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