the thing
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The style, the proper proportion. Application varied. A good appearance, a decent dinner, or a fair bottle of wine, is said to be "the THING," sometimes "the correct THING."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “the thing” mean?
The style, the proper proportion. Application varied. A good appearance, a decent dinner, or a fair bottle of wine, is said to be "the THING," sometimes "the correct THING."
Is “the thing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.