come the old soldier
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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”),[1] in the sense of one taking advantage of their age or experience over someone else.[2]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkʌm ðiː‿əʊl(d) ˈsəʊld͡ʒə/, /-ˈsɒl-/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkʌm ði‿oʊl(d) ˈsoʊld͡ʒə/
- Hyphenation: come the old sold‧ier
Verb[edit]
come 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)
- (intransitive, idiomatic, informal) Often followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience.
- Synonyms: act the old soldier, play the old soldier
- Don’t come the old soldier with me, sunshine! Do you think I was born yesterday?
- 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:
- [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.
- 1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “Brown Patronus”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 2nd, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 167:
- But you needn't try to come the old soldier over me. D—n it, I'm not such a fool as that.
Translations[edit]
to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one’s superior age or experience
References[edit]
- ^ “to come (also act, play, etc.) the old soldier (over a person)” under “old soldier, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2022.
- ^ Charles James (1816) “SOLDIER”, in An Universal Military Dictionary in English and French: […], 4th edition, London: […] [C. Roworth] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 838, column 1: “Old Soldier, a familiar phrase used in the British army to signify a shrewd and intelligent person. It sometimes means an individual who will not scruple to take advantage of the credulity or inexperience of others. Hence to come the old soldier over you.”
