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Pillar to post

Posted by James Briggs on August 29, 2000

In Reply to: Pillar to post posted by GARY RYAN on August 29, 2000

: Where does the phrase from pillar to post originate as I have been from pillar to post trying to find this out.

To go from pillar to post is to go from one disaster to another. It comes from the comparison with criminals going from the pillory to the whipping post.
Another possible definition suggests that the saying was originally from post to pillar. In this case the comparison is with old tennis courts and relates to the banging about of the balls.
If someone is a pillar of the Establishment then they are a prominent member of a group, political party or society in general. The origin seems obvious; "pillars" are "supports" and this is how the phrase should be constructed. It comes from an Ibsen play. In the original Norwegian the text was "Support of the Establishment" but became translated as "Pillar".

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