original as sin
adjEtymology Referring to the Christian concept of original sin.
1
Very original.
- Say what you will, once whispered a friend of mine, there are things in him strong as poison, and original as sin.1824, The London Magazine, volume 9, page 529:
- But I had no guess of it then as I sat writing by the fireside, in what seemed the spring-tides of a somewhat pedestrian inspiration; nor yet day by day, after lunch, as I read aloud my morning's work to the family. It seemed to me original as sin; it seemed to belong to me like my right eye.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- Related terms
- ugly as sin