English · Idiom Historical

between hay and grass

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Too late for one and too soon for the other.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Trees & plants Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “between hay and grass” mean?

Too late for one and too soon for the other.

Is “between hay and grass” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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