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Glite Dictionary
any old thing

any old thing

2 5.6
A thing of any kind, often not good or picked without care
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cualquier cosa
  • People can just make up any old thing and write it down.
  • just any old thing
  • wear any old thing

Examples

  • Just go over there and talk to him about any old thing.

  • You can bring any old thing you want.

    Beaches (1988)

  • Without understanding the idea, finding just any old thing will be enough.

    Blog text (14)

  • We were just really posting any old thing back in the day.

  • So it's you can't just take any old thing and be like, how often should I go to Las Vegas and blow all my money on the slots?

  • The energy of a photon can't be any old thing, but in fact the energy of a photon is equal to H times nu.

  • Do they think we will settle for any old thing?

Antonyms

specific
4.3

A clear detail about something that gives exact information

Surface Forms

any old thing singular
any old things plural

Morphology

any + old + thing

The basic sense 'anything at all' can be inferred from 'any' (non-specific) combined with 'thing', so a B1 learner would likely grasp the general meaning. However, 'old' here functions as a colloquial intensifier/pragmatic marker rather than its literal 'aged' sense, and that nuance and idiomatic usage are not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Any old thing comes from the picture of someone grabbing something at random from a pile of used or mixed items; the words any, old, and thing give the image of a choice made without care. So, any old thing now means 'anything at all', whatever its type or quality.