The OED’s earliest confirmed example in which the reversed phrase appears figuratively is from a Pennsylvania newspaper: By the mid-19th century the newer phrase was quite common in both Britain and the United States. Meanwhile, a version with the first two nouns reversed-“lock, stock, and barrel”-had started appearing in figurative use as early as the 1820s (we’ve seen reports of an 1803 American example, but we can’t confirm it). In our searches of old newspaper databases, we found that the phrase persisted in that order (“stock, lock, and barrel”) well into the 20th century, though it fell off sharply in the 1930s. His letters were published in Glasgow in 1823 as Travels Through Part of the United States and Canada.)Īnd this Oxford example refers to a financial disaster: “Even the capital likewise-stock, lock, and barrel, all went.” (From Lawrie Todd, an 1830 novel by John Galt about a Scotsman who emigrates to North America.) 10, 1819, by John Duncan, commenting on Americans’ readiness to overhaul their state constitutions. We found this 1819 example in the writings of another Scotsman: “I am afraid that if the Americans continue to cherish a fondness for such repairs, the highlandman’s pistol, with its new stock, lock, and barrel, will bear a close resemblance to what is ultimately produced.” 29, 1817, in reference to an old fountain on his estate: “Like the High-landman’s gun, she wants stock, lock, and barrel, to put her into repair.” The OED’s first confirmed figurative usage is from a letter written by Sir Walter Scott on Oct. The resulting figurative phrase-originally “stock, lock, and barrel”-means “as a whole entirely,” or “the totality or entirety of something,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and its earliest examples are from Scottish authors. “When we think of the other improvements which this work would need, before it could be rendered useful, we cannot help recollecting the story of a gun which, in order to be repaired, required a new stock, a new lock, and a new barrel.” (From a review of a book on agriculture in the Monthly Review, London, March 1790.)Īnd the Scottish poet Robert Burns referred to it in a letter written in April 1793: “Let him mend the song, as the Highlander mended his gun he gave it a new stock, a new lock, and a new barrel.” This is the earliest reference we’ve found to the story: Usually the weapon is called a “gun,” but sometimes it’s a “pistol,” a “musket,” or a “fowling-piece” (a light shotgun). We’ve seen dozens of versions of the story, dating from the late 1700s onward. The Scotsman replies that he’ll settle for a new stock, a new lock, and a new barrel -in other words, a whole new gun. But it’s virtually beyond repair, and the gunsmith suggests he should simply buy a new one. The phrase was inspired by an old joke about a rural Scotsman who takes his worn-out gun to be repaired. The “barrel” here is a gun barrel, the “stock” is the handle, and the “lock” is the firing mechanism where loose powder is exploded in old-style firearms (hence terms like “flintlock,” “matchlock,” and so on). Q: Can you explain the expression “lock, stock, and barrel”? I know that it means all of something, but does it refer to the actual parts of a firearm?Ī: Yes, the individual words refer to parts of a gun, but the phrase itself has almost always been used figuratively.
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