etymology - Origin of "More X than you can shake a stick at"


What is the origin of the phrase "more X than you can shake a stick at"?


Every website I've seen on this basically says the same thing (e.g., http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sha2.htm):



  • Recorded history since 1818 - Lancaster Journal of Pennsylvania dated 5 August 1818: “We have in Lancaster as many Taverns as you can shake a stick at”.

  • Other early examples:

    • Davy Crockett’s Tour to the North and Down East of 1835: “This was a temperance house, and there was nothing to treat a friend that was worth shaking a stick at”.

    • A Book of Vagaries by James K Paulding of 1868: “The roistering barbecue fellow swore he was equal to any man you could shake a stick at”.



  • Only guesses as to the etymology for the phrase:

    • Maybe it's Native American?

    • Maybe it's military?

    • Maybe it's from a form of a boys' game "playing" military?

    • Maybe it's from counting herd animals?




Does this community have any ideas (and support for those ideas)? Also, is this solely American? Solely North American?




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