From Pillar to Post
Our family loves to travel from pillar to post. Beaches, mountains, and plains all beckon to us. Yet, we don’t like to change where we live. When our travels end, we want to return to the house where we’ve lived for years.
From pillar to post means from place to place.
It also means from:
- Person to person
- Thing to thing
- Position to position
Similar expressions include:
- From here to yonder
- Here, there, and everywhere
- Hither and thither
- Hither and yon
From pillar to post often refers to random movement.
It may have little or no purpose. We see this in people who never:
- Stay anywhere long
- Keep the same job
- Maintain relationships
Such movement often fails to bear fruit. It wastes both time and effort.
The origin of this phrase remains uncertain.
The Free Dictionary offers two theories.
- It may come from old style tennis courts with pillars and posts where the ball could be bounced.
- It may have “originally meant from whipping-post to pillory (punishment to hanging).”
Whether we go from pillar to post or stick like glue, let’s always follow the direction God gives.
“For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV).
Thanks to Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion and to Jeri Stone for the photo.
Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.
Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.