• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / What does the phrase “to pull up stakes” mean and Where does it originate?

What does the phrase “to pull up stakes” mean and Where does it originate?

June 22, 2020 by Karen Hill

The phrase “to pull up stakes” means: To move from a place; change one’s location.

This takes us back to colonial days in New England, to the time when a settler, dissatisfied for any cause with the parcel of land allotted to him, took up the boundary stakes and either returned to England or moved to another location of his own choosing.

The earliest citation is to an English lawyer, Thomas Lechford, who, after a stay of two years in Boston, 1638 to 1640, wrote to a friend in England, “I am loth to hear of a stay (in New England), but am plucking up stakes, with as much speed as I may, if so be I may be so happy as to arrive in Ireland.”

Related Facts

  • How do lawyers research members of a jury before deciding whether to challenge them?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • Where does the phrase “to pull one’s leg” come from and What does “pull my leg” mean?
  • How and When did Dylan Thomas die?

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.

Previous Post: « Where does the expression “old familiar stamping ground” come from and What does it mean?
Next Post: What does the term “stool pigeon” mean and Where does the phrase stool pigeon come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy