• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

What does the expression “all beer and skittles” mean and Where did it originate?

By Karen Hill

The phrase “all beer and skittles” occurs more generally in British literature than in American.

Dickens used it (with “porter” instead of “beer”) in Pickwick Papers, in the scene in which Mr. Pickwick, convicted of breach of promise, is introduced to Fleet Prison as a debtor.

His conductor has shown him that other debtors manage to have a pretty good time.

“It strikes me, Sam,” said Mr. Pickwick to his faithful Achates, Sam Weller, “that imprisonment for debt is scarcely any punishment at all.”

“Ah, that’s just the wery thing, sir,” rejoined Sam, “they don’t mind it; it’s a regular holiday to them, all porter and skittles.”

Skittles was a game quite similar to nine pins; so “porter and skittles” or “beer and skittles” was equivalent to a very pleasant occasion, a time of feasting and playing.

The expression occurs generally in the negative, as, “life is not all beer and skittles”; i.e., life is not an unmixed pleasure.

Related

  • How did the Expression "Red Herring" Originate, What does it Mean, and Where does it Come From?
  • How Did the Phrase "I'll Be Hanged If I Do and Hanged If I Don't" Originate and What Does the Expression Mean?
  • How Did the Expression "Rise and Shine" Originate and What Does the Phrase "Shake a Leg" Mean?
  • What Does the Expression "Spick and Span" Mean and How Did the Phrase Originate?
  • How Did the Expression "Fast and Loose" Originate When Gambling and What Does it Mean?
  • What Does the Expression "On a Wing and a Prayer" Mean and Where Did the Idiom Originate?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Accomplishments Animals Culture Finance Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Law Mythology Odds People Plants Religion Science Space The World Universe Your Body

About · Privacy · Contact
Copyright © 2019 Zippy Facts