High Cotton

Posted by ESC on March 23, 2004

In Reply to: High Cotton posted by Bruce Kahl on March 22, 2004

: : What's the origin of the term "high cotton," or "he or she is in 'high cotton?'"

: This came from the old US south where cotton was one of the few cash crops when this country was first settled. High cotton is a reference to the tallest healthiest plants, which produced the most cotton. To be "in high cotton" is to have a valuable, bumper crop.

I've heard it this way: "tall cotton."