old chestnut
4
7.9
- noun
- Informal
:
cliché
- Oh, not that old chestnut again; I've heard it at least a dozen times!
- bring up the old chestnut
Examples
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This old chestnut ignores, however, both an extensive literature on the evolution of the legal concept of sovereignty and a generation of research on the political trade-offs entailed by international economic interdependence.
Academic text (1995) -
At a press conference in Turkey, President Obama casually rebuked the old chestnut that the United States is a Judeo-Christian nation.
Blog text (10) -
You know, that old chestnut.
-
- oh, come on, that old chestnut?
-
That old chestnut needs a serious reality check, which I'll try to do on my site soon.
Blog text (34) -
Upon reading this post, what immediately comes to mind is the old chestnut about some issues being more worthy than others.
Blog text (5) -
You're gonna bring up that old chestnut again?
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As I progress in my journey as a performer, student, and teacher, the wisdom of this old chestnut becomes more and more evident.
Blog text (19) -
This old chestnut really speaks to people's basic ignorance about the program.
Blog text (6) -
This old chestnut is getting a new polish in the continuing debate over Western Civilization courses at American colleges and universities.
Academic text (1992)
Synonyms
173
4.6
An overused phrase or idea that no longer seems original
28
2.8
A short traditional phrase that gives advice or a general truth
5
3.5
A joke people in a group keep mentioning
4
7.7
A common saying many people repeat that gives simple advice
2
3.8
A silly, old-fashioned joke that is too easy to guess
1
3.3
A common saying used so often it sounds tired
Antonyms
How Overused
Surface Forms
Morphology
old + chestnut
While 'old' gives a clear cue that something is long-standing or repeated, the noun 'chestnut' (a literal nut/tree) does not transparently signal 'story' or 'joke'. The phrase is idiomatic and culturally specific, so a B1 learner who knows the parts might guess it's something aged but would not reliably infer the meaning 'stale/overused joke', making the expression only partially predictable.
Etymology
Old chestnut may come from the picture of an old chestnut nut that has been around so long it becomes dry and dull. So old chestnut is used for 'a joke or story that is boring because people have heard it many times'.