Meanings
alternative older than the hills
- excessiveidiomaticnot comparablesimileExtremely old.
His family is as old as the hills, and infinitely more respectable.
1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, “In Fashion”, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC, pages 6–72 more examples
“[…]And for us to suppose we can have something great—ideas, work—it’s all dust and ashes.” “But all that’s as old as the hills, my boy!” “It is old; but do you know, when you grasp this fully, then somehow everything becomes of no consequence.[…]”
1901 [1878], chapter 7, in Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 4A violent revolution cannot achieve anything except the inevitable results of violence, which are as old as the hills.
1937, Aldous Huxley, “Social Reform and Violence”, in Ends and Means: An Inquiry into the Nature of Ideals and into the Methods Employed for Their Realization, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 25Synonyms: aged, age-old, ancient, old as the Pyramids, old as time, older than dirt, older than the Pyramids, ancient
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveExtremely old.
Origin
Possibly a reference to Job 15:7 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Art thou the first man that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills?”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish vanha kuin taivas
- vanha kuin taivasextremely old
French vieux comme le monde
- vieux comme le mondeextremely old
Hungarian vén, mint az országút
- vén, mint az országútextremely old
Irish chomh sean leis an gceo, chomh sean leis na cnoic
- chomh sean leis an gceoextremely old
- chomh sean leis na cnoicextremely old
- chomh sean leis na clocha glasaextremely old
- chomh sean leis an díleextremely old
Italian vecchio come Matusalemme, vecchio come il cucco
- vecchio come Matusalemmeextremely old
- vecchio come il cuccoextremely old
Polish stary jak świat
- stary jak światextremely old
Portuguese mais velho que a Sé de Braga, mais velho que o cagar em cócoras
- mais velho que a Sé de Bragaextremely old
- mais velho que o cagar em cócorasextremely old
Spanish más viejo que Matusalén, más visto que el tebeo
- más viejo que Matusalénextremely old
- más visto que el tebeoextremely old
- más viejo que mear de pieextremely old
Swedish gammal som gatan
- gammal som gatanextremely old
Welsh cyn hyned â phechod, cyn hyned â Methuselah
- cyn hyned â phechodextremely old
- cyn hyned â Methuselahextremely old
- cyn hyned â'r garregextremely old
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with old as the hills
All rhymes →Cite this entry
old as the hills. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20as%20the%20hills
“old as the hills.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20as%20the%20hills. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “old as the hills,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20as%20the%20hills.
Source: old as the hills on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.