IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishany old how
Meaning: Carelessly, with no attention to doing it properly.
Example: “The boxes were stacked any old how in the hallway.”
Origin: "Any old" is an informal intensifier, as in "any old thing." The British phrase is common from the early 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Italian: alla carlona Literally: In the Carlon manner- Italian: alla bell'e meglio Literally: At the beautiful and better
More English idioms
- take to one's heels To run away.
- where the sun doesn't shine Somewhere hidden; also a rude way of naming the body.
- drag one's feet To delay deliberately.
- be tone-deaf To be unable to tell musical notes apart; also, to have no sense of how others feel.
- throw dust in someone's eyes To mislead someone by distracting them.
- when pigs fly Never.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
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