not worth a rush
Preserved but no longer current.
Worthless, not worth a straw. When floors used to be strewn with rushes, distinguished guests were given clean, fresh rushes, but those of inferior grade had either the rushes which had been already used by their superiors, or none at all.
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 worth a rush” mean?
Worthless, not worth a straw. When floors used to be strewn with rushes, distinguished guests were given clean, fresh rushes, but those of inferior grade had either the rushes which had been already used by their superiors, or none at all.
Is “not worth a rush” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.