fifty-eleven

adjective

Very many; too many to count; quite a lot.

Meanings

adjectivefifty-eleven (not comparable)

alternative fifty eleven · alternative fifty-leven · alternative fifty-'leven · alternative fifty-leben · alternative 50-11

  1. USdialectalinformalnot comparableVery many; too many to count; quite a lot.

    mister: The white man got fifty-eleven way to get money and go to school to learn some more ways. If you go to one of them schools say, "I'm gonna learn how to make money"... they'll give you a mop and bucket.

    1999, August Wilson, “King Hedley II”, in Pittsburgh Cycle, volume IX, page 57
    2 more examples

    When Sunday comes, he asks his wife, "Have you made Mary's dress? Is Nellie's hat trimmed? Did you get Johnny's pants and vest done? Have you sewed the hat that was torn? Are my new pants ready to wear? Did you get my undershirt and drawers made?" and fifty-eleven other things are expected to be done just when they are wanted by a kind husband.

    1873 October 24, Anonymous, "Poor Husbands", Daily State Journal, p. 1

    Mr. [John W.] Ransone has the part of a stranded German musician and comes to the deserted inn (the servants have struck for their wages) and becomes waiter, cook, porter and fifty-eleven other things to help fill the vacancies.

    1915 October 10, Anonymous, "'Two Is Company' Still Pleases", Sunday Oregonian, p. 16

    Synonyms: countless, legion, eighty-eleven, eleventeen, eleventy, feelefold, forty-eleven, manifold

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From humorous use of eleven to continue counting the fifties.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fifty-eleven. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fifty-eleven

MLA

“fifty-eleven.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fifty-eleven. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fifty-eleven,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fifty-eleven.

Source: fifty-eleven on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.