What is the meaning of the phrase ‘Neck of the woods’?
Neighbourhood, region or area.
What is the origin of the phrase ‘Neck of the woods’?
The phrase ‘neck of the woods’ is a very old one. The use of the word ‘neck’ to describe a narrow piece of land such as a stretch of wood, pasture, meadows, dates back to the 800s. It comes from the idea of a neck as a strip of land, based on its resemblance to the neck of an animal.
Then in the 1600s, early American settlers were the first to apply the term ‘neck’ to a narrow stand of woods or, more significantly, to a settlement located in a particular part of the woods. The term ‘neck’ was used in colonial property deeds.
The Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest citation of the word ‘neck’ being used in this context was in Dedham. Mass, in 1637, where it is written “Graunted to Samuell Morse yt necke of medowe lying next unto ye medowes graunted unto Edward Alleyn.”
These days, the meaning of the phrase ‘neck of the woods’ has expanded, and now people use the phrase colloquially to refer to one’s home, whether it be in a rural locale or somewhere more urban and built upon..
The phrase can be used in several different ways, such as ‘Where’s your neck of the woods?’, ‘We’re from the same neck of the woods’, or ‘I don’t know this neck of the woods’.
What are some notable uses of the phrase ‘Neck of the woods’?
The phrase ‘neck of the woods’ appears in classical literature, including in “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee published in 1960, and in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain published in 1884.
The phrase also crops up in the film “It’s a Wonderful Life” released in 1946, and there are two songs with ‘neck of the woods’ in the title, one by Tim McGraw released in 2002, and one by Silversun Pickups released in 2012.
