Etymology Journal · N
Nothing to sneeze at
Meaning
- This phrase means that something is significant or worthy of respect. You might use it to describe an accomplishment or an amount of money that should not be ignored.
Serious, impressed
Used in a sentence
- Winning ten thousand dollars is nothing to sneeze at.
- She has been running a business for twenty years, which is nothing to sneeze at.
- A four percent interest rate on your savings is nothing to sneeze at these days.
The backstory
This idiom implies that an item or achievement is of enough value that it would be rude or foolish to treat it with disrespect. It has been in use since the nineteenth century.
Heard in
Nationwide
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