the house down

English

Alternative forms

• down the house

Etymology

Probably an ellipsis of bring the house down (“to garner enthusiastic or wild applause or laughter”).

Adverb

the house down (not comparable)

1. (drag slang) Used as an intensifier: very, to a great degree; exceptionally.

   Synonyms: the house (ellipsis); see also Thesaurus:very

   • 2021 December 2, Raffy Ermac, “Meet the Sickening Queens of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14”, in Out‎^[1]:

     Hello-tis, it's Jorgeous! This spicy Latina dancing diva started drag at the age of 16 and never looked back. A fierce performer who was born to do drag, Jorgeous is looking to dance the house down boots all the way to the top.

   • 2024 June 12, Jess Reynolds, “47 pics from D.C.'s Capital Pride Parade 2024 that are boots the house (and Senate) down queer joy”, in Out‎^[2]:

     [see title]

   • 2024 September 12, Sam Damshenas, “‘A new direction for the franchise’: Drag Race UK stars on “mind-blowing” season 6”, in Gay Times‎^[3]:

     A musical theatre queen that can sing and “crochet” the house down, Saki [Yew] is eager to compete in the Rusical and girl-group challenge as “it shows off what I was trained to do”.

Usage notes

• It can modify verbs, adjectives or nouns. Often used together with boots for further emphasis (e.g., boots the house down, the house down boots or the house boots down).