from pillar to post

== English == === Alternative forms === from post to pillar === Etymology === Possibly originally from post to pillar, perhaps a reference to the rapid movement of the ball in real tennis; The Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (1993) notes that from post to pillar dates to at least the 15th century. === Pronunciation === Hyphenation: from pil‧lar to post === Adverb === from pillar to post (not comparable) (idiomatic, dated) From one place, place, or thing to another, hither and thither. Synonym: hither and thither 2003, Joan Steinau Lester, Fire in My Soul: Eleanor Holmes Norton, New York, N.Y.: Atria Books, ISBN 978-0-7434-0787-8; republished New York, N.Y.: Atria Books, January 2004, ISBN 978-0-7434-0788-5, page 263: We campaigned like hell. On election day we went from pillar to post begging people to support us. ==== Usage notes ==== The term normally implies an exhausting or harassing situation. ==== Translations ==== === References === John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “from pillar to post”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.. === Anagrams === from post to pillar