more than one can shake a stick at

English

Alternative forms

• more than one can poke a stick at
• more than you can shake a stick at

Etymology

Unknown. American English, in use since about 1800.

Adjective

more than one can shake a stick at (comparative form only)

1. Occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many.
   • 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, ch. 16:

     "[L]aziness, cousin, laziness,—which ruins more souls than you can shake a stick at."

   • 1883, Edward Payson Roe, His Sombre Rivals: A Story of the Civil War, ch. 39:

     "[H]e's laid out more 'Federates dan he can shake a stick at."

   • 1910, Jack London, Burning Daylight, ch. 16:

     "I've got more companies than you can shake a stick at. There's the Alameda & Contra Costa Land Syndicate, the Consolidated Street Railways, the Yerba Buena Ferry Company, the United Water Company, the Piedmont Realty Company, the Fairview and Portola Hotel Company, and half a dozen more that I've got to refer to a notebook to remember."

   • 2004 Aug. 15, Ben Stein, "For Sale: The Ultimate Status Symbol," New York Times, (retrieved 12 June 2014):

     There are more billionaires than you can shake a stick at.

Usage notes

• The modified noun is placed between more and than.

Translations

occurring in abundance

• Finnish: paljon (fi)
• Hungarian: mint égen a csillag
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: più di quanto tu possa immaginare
• Russian: куры не клюю́т (ru) (kury ne kljujút), пруд пруди́ (ru) (prud prudí)