English Explanatory Dictionary

beer and skittles

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Fun times; pleasure and leisure.

Pronunciation

en-au-beer and skittles.ogg

Word forms

beer and skittles skittles and beer

Etymology

Found as early as 1837, in Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, where it appears in the form, “It’s a reg’lar holiday to them—all porter and skittles”. The most common form, as a negative admonition, appears to have been popularized by Thomas Hughes in Tom Brown's School Days (1857, see quotation below).

Synonyms

peaches and cream bed of roses bowl of cherries sunshine and rainbows beatitude bliss delectation delight ecstasy euphoria lust nirvana pleasure rapture ravishment transport

Related words

good times

Derived words

life is not all beer and skittles
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