like a martin to his gourd
English edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Alternative forms edit
Phrase edit
- (simile, US, regional) Straight, unerringly, directly.
- 1968, Charles Portis, True Grit:
- The ball flew to its mark like a martin to his gourd and Lucky Ned Pepper fell dead in the saddle.
- 2008, Paul Self, No Lower Place, page 219:
- Whether all of the above was reason enough I don't know, but I left East St. Louis and, like a martin to its gourd, I headed back to the cotton fields of southeastern Missouri.