thar

thar she blows

cliché Traditionally, the hail used when a whale has been spotted spraying water from its blowhole by the lookout of a whaling ship. "Thar" is an old-fashioned, colloquial variant of "there."

1. Used humorously to indicate that something is erupting or exploding, or about to do so. Look, the volcano is erupting! Thar she blows! He pushed down on the plunger of the detonator as he yelled out, "Thar she blows!"

2. Used humorously to indicate that one is now able to see something or has arrived somewhere. A: "Thanks again for driving me home." B: "No problem at all. Well, thar she blows. Have a good night!" A: "Thar she blows! I can see the carnival tent!" B: "Well spotted, Mike!"

See also: blow, she, thar

there's gold in them there hills

cliché There is the potential to make a lot of money from this venture. A reference to the Sometimes written as "them thar hills" to affect a rural accent. Primarily heard in US. With the sudden and ubiquitous rise of smartphones, the new and lucrative market of mobile apps came to the fore, and developers around the world realized that there's gold in them there hills. As an emerging nation with a growing economy, there's gold in them thar hills for companies willing to invest early.

See also: gold, hill, there

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

there's gold in them thar hills

or

there's gold in them there hills

AMERICAN, INFORMAL

People say there's gold in them thar hills or there's gold in them there hills to mean that it is possible to make money in a particular place or with a particular activity. Mongolia has gold in them thar hills and foreign companies have been quick to grab a piece of the action. There would be winners and losers in the high-tech business, but there was gold in them there hills. Note: People often use other words instead of hills according to the subject they are talking about. Drugs companies are seeing sales soar in America. There's gold in them there pills. Note: This expression refers to the California Gold Rush of the 19th century; the line also appears in the theme song of an old television programme about that period.

See also: gold, hill, thar

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012