# back forty

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/back-forty
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

The most remote or inaccessible part of any place.

## Examples

- He keeps his old tractor in the back forty.
- We rarely visit the back forty of the property because the weeds are too tall.
- The store manager had to search the back forty of the warehouse to find the extra boxes of winter coats that were delivered last month.
- The explorer ventured into the back forty of the estate, where the dense forest had reclaimed the land long ago.

## Origin

From *back* + *forty*, the term originated in the American 1860s following the passage of the Homestead Acts. Under these statutes, settlers were granted a quarter section of land. As a standard section was nominally one square mile containing 640 acres, a quarter section comprised 160 acres. This allotment was further partitioned into four quarter-quarter sections of 40 acres each. The division of the 160-acre homestead created two front forty-acre plots and two back forty-acre plots. The latter term designated the most remote portion of the farm, situated furthest from the main buildings and the public road. The expression remains a linguistic relative of *north forty*, *backcountry*, and *backwater*.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.