# from pillar to post

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/from-pillar-to-post
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

From one place, place, or thing to another, hither and thither.

## Examples

- The company sent me from pillar to post to fix my bill.
- I travel from pillar to post to find the right parts for my car.
- I spent all morning calling different departments and being sent from pillar to post without getting any answers.
- The young intern spent his first week being moved from pillar to post as every manager needed help with a different urgent project.
- After the storm damaged their house, the family had to move from pillar to post, staying in three different hotels in just one month.
- The refugees were driven from pillar to post by shifting borders and uncaring bureaucracies, finding no permanent sanctuary anywhere.

## Origin

The phrase is perhaps a reference to the rapid movement of the ball in real tennis, possibly originating as from post to pillar. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (1993) notes that the latter variation dates to at least the 15th century, though the exact transition of the terms remains unproven. Given the chaos of the early game, the movement described was likely more a matter of frantic necessity than of strategy. (disputed)

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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.