not at home
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A familiar locution for "not prepared to receive visitors" — or the one who is applying for admission; it does not neces- sarily mean "away from home.
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.
Common questions
What does “not at home” mean?
A familiar locution for "not prepared to receive visitors" — or the one who is applying for admission; it does not neces- sarily mean "away from home.
Is “not at home” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.