back of beyond

Definition

A very remote place.

Etymology

First attested in the Scottish novelist Walter Scott’s The Antiquary (1816; see quotation). It is quite possible that Scott anglicised a rural expression rather than coined it himself—something he did numerous times with other phrases.

Example Sentences

• "[Y]ou, wi’ some o’ your auld warld stories, that the mind o’ man canna resist, whirl’d them to the back o’ beyont to look at the auld Roman camp—[…]"
• "It was a regular outside bush township, and though the distance oughtn't to have much to say to people's honesty, you'll mostly find that these far-out back-of-beyond places have got men and women to match 'em."
• ""I thought I should like to go near the sea — to some quite tiny country place at the back of beyond.""