old maid

old maid
   an unmarried woman who is unlikely to marry
   A maid was an unmarried girl and, after the 17th century, in the normal linguistic progression, an unmarried female of any age:
    There will the devil meet me, like an old cuckold, with horns on his head, and say, 'Get you to heaven, Beatrice, get you to heaven, here's no place for you maids.' So deliver I up my apes and away to St Peter. (Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing — see lead apes in hell for the simian allusion)
   Now standard English:
    I'm able to keep myself, and to wait as long as I choose till I get married. I'm not afraid of being an old maid. (Somerville and Ross, 1894)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Old maid — Maid Maid, n. [Shortened from maiden. ?. See {Maiden}.] 1. An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden. [1913 Webster] Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son. Shak. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Old maid — Old Old, a. [Compar. {Older}; superl. {Oldest}.] [OE. old, ald, AS. ald, eald; akin to D. oud, OS. ald, OFries. ald, old, G. alt, Goth. alpeis, and also to Goth. alan to grow up, Icel. ala to bear, produce, bring up, L. alere to nourish. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • old maid — old maids N COUNT (disapproval) People sometimes refer to an old or middle aged woman as an old maid when she has never married and they think that it is unlikely that she ever will marry. This use could cause offence. Alex is too young to be… …   English dictionary

  • old-maid — old maid·ish·ness; old maid·ish·ly; …   English syllables

  • old maid — old′ maid′ n. 1) off usu. disp. an elderly or confirmed spinster 2) a fussy, timid, prudish person 3) gam a simple card game, played with a deck having one card removed, in which players match pairs, the loser being the holder of the odd card,… …   From formal English to slang

  • old maid — noun count 1. ) an insulting word for an older woman who has not been married and is unlikely to get married 2. ) INFORMAL someone who has old fashioned opinions and is too worried about small details ╾ ,old maidish adjective …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • old maid — n old fashioned not polite an offensive word for a woman who has never married and is not young any more = ↑spinster …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • old maid — ► NOUN 1) derogatory a single woman regarded as too old for marriage. 2) a prim and fussy person. 3) a card game in which players collect pairs and try not to be left with an odd penalty card, typically a queen …   English terms dictionary

  • old maid — n. 1. a woman, esp. an older woman, who has never married; spinster: a mild term of contempt 2. a prim, prudish, fussy person 3. a simple card game played with a deck containing one card with no match, the loser being the player left with that… …   English World dictionary

  • Old Maid — Infobox CardGame title = Old Maid subtitle = Also: Queen of Spades, Chase the Ace image link = image caption = alt names = type = players = 3+ ages = num cards = 49, 51, or 53 play = Clockwise card rank = origin = related = playing time = random… …   Wikipedia

  • Old Maid — Historische Schwarzer Peter Karten Schwarzer Peter ist neben Quartett das am weitesten verbreitete Kartenspiel für Kinder. Die Redewendung „jemandem den Schwarzen Peter zuschieben“ bedeutet, jemand anderen etwas Unangenehmes tun zu l …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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