wooden nutmegs
Preserved but no longer current.
Connecticut was in the early 19th century referred to derisively as the land of wooden nutmegs because certain dishonest merchants from the State were said to have exported nutmegs made of wood and other worthless goods.
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 “wooden nutmegs” mean?
Connecticut was in the early 19th century referred to derisively as the land of wooden nutmegs because certain dishonest merchants from the State were said to have exported nutmegs made of wood and other worthless goods.
Is “wooden nutmegs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.