(as) old as the hills
humorous Very old. Oh, she's old as the hills, she can't hear us. Why don't we ever sing new songs? Those hymns are as old as the hills. She had a phonograph when she was a child? She must be as old as the hills.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*old as the hills
very old; ancient. (*Also: as ~.) That's not a new joke; it's as old as the hills! Our family custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is old as the hills.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
old as the hills
If something is as old as the hills, it is very old. Their equipment may be modern, but the techniques remain as old as the hills.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
(as) old as the ˈhills
very old; ancient: That joke’s as old as the hills!Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
old as the hills, (as)
Very old indeed. The term refers, presumably, to geological time, when mountains were first formed, but one writer suggests a relation to a biblical passage: “Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills” (Job 15:7). The expression dates from about 1800 and was used by Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, among others. See also
as old as Adam;
from time immemorial.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer