come the old soldier

come the old sold·ier
UK/ˈkʌm ðiː‿əʊl(d)ˈsəʊld͡ʒə/UK/-ˈsɒl-/US/ˈkʌm ði‿oʊl(d)ˈsoʊld͡ʒə/

verb

Often followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience.

“Don’t come the old soldier with me, sunshine! Do you think I was born yesterday?”

Similar
act the old soldierplay the old soldier
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Meanings

verbcome the old soldier (third-person singular simple present comes the old soldier, present participle coming the old soldier, simple past came the old soldier, past participle come the old soldier)

present singular third person comes the old soldier · participle present coming the old soldier · past came the old soldier

  1. idiomaticinformalintransitiveOften followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience.

    Don’t come the old soldier with me, sunshine! Do you think I was born yesterday?

    2 more examples

    [W]ere it not that I think he has scarce the impudence to propose such a thing to succeed, curse me but I should think he was coming the old soldier over me, and keeping up his game.

    1823 December 23 (indicated as 1824), [Walter Scott], “Fortune’s Frolics”, in St Ronan’s Well. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, pages 111–112

    But you needn't try to come the old soldier over me. D—n it, I'm not such a fool as that.

    1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “Brown Patronus”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 2nd, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 167

    Synonyms: act the old soldier, play the old soldier

Synonyms & antonyms

verbOften followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience.

Similar
act the old soldierplay the old soldier

Origin

From come (“to behave in the manner of; to pretend to be”) + the + old soldier (“former soldier, or one who has served for a long time; one with a lot of experience in something”), in the sense of one taking advantage of their age or experience over someone else.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

come the old soldier. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20the%20old%20soldier

MLA

“come the old soldier.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20the%20old%20soldier. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come the old soldier,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20the%20old%20soldier.

Source: come the old soldier on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.