Meanings
- humorousUsed at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length.First known use 20th c.
Linnie McAllister: ...five boys, six girls, two drivers,... and a partridge in a pear tree.
1990, John Hughes, Chris Columbus, Home Alone5 more examples
Her dearly departed husband had left no will. He'd always meant to get around to it, but you know how it is, just kept putting it off. I was to raise Mr. Doughal in front of two lawyers, two witnesses, the Doughals' three grown children, and a partridge in a pear tree.
1995, Laurell K[aye] Hamilton, chapter 19, in Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter; 3), New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, published 2002, →ISBNIn this corner, one missing Shroud, one impossibly and thoroughly dead corpse, one dedicated and deadly vampire warlord, three holy Knights, twenty-nine fallen angels, and a partridge in a pear tree.
2003 August 5, Jim Butcher, Death Masks (The Dresden Files; 5), New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 95About three years ago, half of them had piled into a taxicab that subsequently got into a collision with another cab, which contained—coincidentally—the other half of the Melba family. Consequently, we had eight injured Melbas, seven cases of whiplash, six cracked ribs, five fractured wrists, four chipped teeth, three broken noses, and two uninsured taxis. And a partridge in a pear tree.
2004, Leslie Carroll, chapter 1, in Temporary Insanity: […], New York, N.Y.: Avon Trade, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 6[W]e are straight, lesbian, married, single, parents, grandparents, "will never have kids!", Christian, "spiritual," Jewish, Republican, Democrat, Independent, American, Iranian, East Coast, West Coast, dog lovers, cat lovers, opera lovers, football fanatics, Gen Y, Gen X, boomers, and a partridge in a pear tree.
2009, Susan Scott, “Fierce Practice #2: From Hiring for Smarts to Hiring for Smart+Heart”, in Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst “Best” Practices of Business Today, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Business, Crown Publishing Group, →ISBN, pages 81–82I have one visible minority, one woman who said she's disabled, one with an indigenous background, two who indicated poverty … and a partridge in a pear tree.
2011, Sophie Tamas, Life after Leaving: The Remains of Spousal Abuse (Writing Lives: Ethnographic Narratives), Walnut Creek, Calif.: Left Coast Press, →ISBN, act III—Asking Others, page 93
Origin
From the traditional Christmas song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” first published around 1780, in which earlier lines are repeated and added to with every succeeding line that is sung. The last round of one version of the song that is commonly sung today ends: “On the twelfth day of Christmas, / My true love sent to me / Twelve drummers drumming, / Eleven pipers piping, / Ten lords a-leaping, / Nine ladies dancing, / Eight maids a-milking, / Seven swans a-swimming, / Six geese a-laying, / Five golden rings, / Four calling birds, / Three French hens, / Two turtledoves / And a partridge in a pear tree.”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French alouette
- alouetteused at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length
Hungarian és egy csíz a csupasz körtefán
- és egy csíz a csupasz körtefánused at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length
Polish i kuropatwa na gruszy
- i kuropatwa na gruszyused at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length
Spanish y la abuela, y pare usted de contar
- y la abuelaused at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length
- y pare usted de contarused at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length
Cite this entry
and a partridge in a pear tree. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/and%20a%20partridge%20in%20a%20pear%20tree
“and a partridge in a pear tree.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/and%20a%20partridge%20in%20a%20pear%20tree. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “and a partridge in a pear tree,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/and%20a%20partridge%20in%20a%20pear%20tree.
Source: and a partridge in a pear tree on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.