back forty
Americannoun
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remote, usually uncultivated acreage on a large piece of land, as on a farm or ranch.
Etymology
Origin of back forty
Apparently because forty acres was a typical size for such a piece of land
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So, you’re not saying he was a special agent going back forty years?
From The New Yorker • Nov. 24, 2019
And, here, it’s instructive again to go back forty years.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 11, 2019
“Main man, you’re my support,” it begins, “your two strong legs, your back forty years against a brick wall.”
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2012
“When I heard that there hymn,” she went on quaveringly, “it took me back forty year an’ more.
From In Wild Rose Time by Douglas, Amanda M.
As soon as our battery lays off and gets back into its holes, the German battery comes out and pops back forty or fifty at 'em and, of course, don't hurt them neither.
From "And they thought we wouldn't fight" by Gibbons, Floyd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.