back of beyond

== English == === Etymology === First attested in the Scottish novelist Walter Scott’s The Antiquary (1816; see quotation). It is quite possible that Scott anglicised a rural expression rather than coined it himself—something he did numerous times with other phrases. === Pronunciation === === Noun === the back of beyond (chiefly British, Ireland, Canada and Australia, informal; usually with in, sometimes at or to) A very remote place. ==== Synonyms ==== beyond the black stump See Thesaurus:remote place ==== Translations ==== === References ===