'going home'

Posted by James Briggs on October 30, 2006

In Reply to: 'going home' posted by Sue G on October 30, 2006

: Any suggestions on the phrase 'going home' meaning getting worn out. It's something I have used for years (inhereted from my mother born in Yorkshire) but was given a strange look when I used it today.

That's a phrase I've not heard in years, nay decades! However, it was very common in the UK in the 1930s to 1950s and often referred to something being so worn out as to be nearly useless. It seems to have gone out of common use since. Origin? I can only guess that the 'home' part of the saying refers to a need to go back to the object's maker, ie so worn out that only a complete renewal could bring it back to life. I couldn't find the saying in the 'Dictionary of Slang' or in 'A Word in Your Ear'

• 'going home' Victoria S Dennis 30/October/06
  • 'going home' ESC 02/November/06