And what exactly does it mean? I've always taken it to mean any average person can...(insert whatever the topic is). Is that what it means?
2007-01-03 03:56:20 · 6 answers · asked by Tara 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Quotations
These were the three most common names in England at the time it was originally used, or so I was told. Below is one website's explanation.
Every Tom, Dick & Harry
The saying didn't start out with these three names. It's believed that the saying, which started out in the 16th century, was a reference to the most common names of the time. In Ane Dialog betwix Experience and ane Courteour (1555), Sir David Lyndesay said, "Wherefore to colliers, carters and cokes to Jack and Tom my rime shall be directed." Shakespeare, in 1588's Love's Labour's Lost, talks about a Dick and Tom. The modern version is an American expression which first appeared in the 1815 edition of The Farmer's Almanac: "So he hired Tom, Dick and Harry, and at it they went."
2007-01-03 03:59:06 · answer #1 · answered by Mr 51 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tom Dick And Harry
2016-10-03 23:05:13 · answer #2 · answered by lavinia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Where did the saying "Any Tom, Dick, or Harry..." come from?
And what exactly does it mean? I've always taken it to mean any average person can...(insert whatever the topic is). Is that what it means?
2015-08-18 09:04:51 · answer #3 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
“Tom, Dick and Harry” is a placeholder phrase referring to several randomly-selected people, not necessarily three and not necessarily all men. “Every Tom, Dick and Harry” can refer to the general public. "Tom, Dick or Harry" is a song from the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me Kate.
2007-01-03 04:16:52 · answer #4 · answered by Me and Cleo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that saying came also from say a female messes around all the time with any old tom dick and harry.
2007-01-03 04:10:36 · answer #5 · answered by monte the man 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When that saying became popular in the last century, those names were the most popular so, yes, it means anyone of average intellect could do whatever it was they were supposed to do.
2007-01-03 04:01:13 · answer #6 · answered by honyb50 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my dreams of being on Broadway:my big opening night,my climbing up the ladder to get to the top and become a lead in a revival and being able to rub it in others's faces that I made it.
2016-03-17 09:09:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
some time period far far away
and it basically means any dumb *** could do whatever youre talking about
2007-01-03 03:58:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋