Legal Writing

Phrases you don't hear any more

By Pam_Nelson

This morning, the phrase "struck on himself" popped into my head. I realized that I hadn't heard it in ages. It means someone who has an inflated opinion of himself or who is in love with himself. As in, "Earl was the best looking boy in the school, but I thought he was struck on himself."

The Learner's Dictionary's entry on "strike" says the phrase is British informal. I grew up hearing it all the time, though, in Catawba County, North Carolina. Being "struck on" yourself was a bad thing to be, too, in my family.  

Full post as published by Triangle Grammar Guide on May 12, 2009 (boomark / email).