You might have heard someone say that something is ‘more than you can shake a stick at’ and wondered what it meant. In this article, we’ll take a look at the definition and origin. Plus, you’ll learn how to use the phrase correctly in a sentence.
In short:
- ‘More than you can shake a stick at’ means a large quantity of something, usually more than someone can count.
Essentially, it refers to having a lot of a particular item.
What Does ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’ Mean?
The phrase ‘more than you can shake a stick at’ means that someone has more of something than they know what to do with. You might have heard someone say that they have more of something than they can count.
It just means that you have a large quantity of something, whether it be a food item, such as eggs, or a reference to loads of people (masses).
People use the phrase to refer to something that they might have a large quantity of.
Where Does ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’ Come From?
The phrase is a colorful southern phrase, similar to phrases like ‘you can’t beat that with a stick.’
It comes from the farm where farmers controlled their sheep by shaking their staffs to guide animals in the right direction. That was back when farmers had more sheep than they could control, and people said that they had ‘more than you can shake a stick at.’
Some say it was introduced as early as the 1700s and 1800s when ‘shake a stick at’ was commonly used in descriptions of fights with canes or walking sticks.
Examples of ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’ in Sentences
How would you use ‘more than you can shake a stick at’ in a sentence?
Let’s look at some examples:
- My son bought a 20-gallon container of water for the pool he wants to build in our backyard after he saw it on TikTok. I told him, ‘That’s more than you can shake a stick at.’ He just looked at me funny.
- There were more floats in the parade than you can shake a stick at. I’ve never seen so many in one parade before. It was beautiful to see.
- Whoa! Where’d you get all of this tomato sauce? This is more than you can shake a stick at. I know we have a lot of people to feed, but wow!
- After I finished doing my daughter’s hair, my mom told me I’d put too many barrettes in her hair. She said, ‘That’s more than you can shake a stick at. What does she need all those barrettes in her hair for?”
- We started buying supplies for the organization’s annual event. There’s a lot to buy, but we’ve already got most of what we need, which is more than you can shake a stick at.
- Since it was prom season, my auntie had one of the best dress shops in town bring over a selection to the house. They brought more than you can shake a stick at.
- This morning, I hate more cereal than you can shake a stick at. I was stuffed by the time I was finished. I may have had one bowl too.
- My town was determined to make the biggest cookie ever, so we got a ton of ingredients – probably more than you can shake a stick at. It turned out great!
Other Ways to Say ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’
What other words and phrases convey the same meaning as ‘more than you can shake a stick at’?
Here are a few examples:
- Overload
- Too many
- Too much
- Over sufficient
- More than enough
- Enough to spare
- Heap
- Score
- Hosts
- Droves
- Loads
- Lots
- Masses
- Multitudes
- Plenty
- Swarms
- Armies
- Hordes
- A great many
- A large number
- Copious amounts
- Umpteen
- A great deal
- Great quantities
- A good deal
- A great amount
- A bevy
- Dozens
- A swarm
- Oodles
- A flock
- Thousands
- Zillions
- Myriad
- A bunch
- Shedload
- A slew
- Very many
Concluding Thoughts on ‘More Than You Can Shake a Stick At’
To recap, we learned the following:
- ‘More than you can shake a stick at’ refers to a large quantity of something, usually more than anyone can count.
Essentially, it refers to having a lot of a particular item.
If you ever get stuck on anything, feel free to come back to revisit what you learned. We’ve got a whole library of content on Idioms. You might find it useful as you’re learning the language, so feel free to go check it out anytime.
