I would like to know what is the origin of the expression "all over him/her like a cheap coat/suit". I Googled for it but didn't find any relevant entry. Anyone?
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1I think it must be a synonym for "unflattering".– Elliott FrischCommented Mar 23, 2014 at 19:18
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It's long been a cliche of Australian football to say that a player clumsily infringing another through close bodily contact, was all over him like a cheap suit. The meaning of which I took to be that while a cheap suit covers the body it does so in a clumsy inelegant manner.– Neil WCommented Mar 23, 2014 at 23:09
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4 Answers
I think it's mainly a BrE expression--a variant is all over him like a rash--commonly used to denote the excessive attention one person gives to another, usually when they've only just met, as a result of a sudden sexual attraction. I suppose it could be used about either sex, but I've only heard it used about a female in pursuit of a male. And the suit metaphor makes it tend that way in any case. Why it should be a "cheap suit" is less obvious, but one characteristic of an expensive suit is that you don't notice you're wearing it. If it's cheap, it's likely to be ill-fitting, made of abrasive material, and continually making its presence felt.
answered Mar 24, 2014 at 9:48
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Ngrams says it's used more often in the U.S., although it's certainly found in the U.K. as well. And I certainly recognize it. Commented Mar 24, 2014 at 13:27
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There are many varients of this colorful phrase indicating unwelcome harassment: he was all over me like white on rice (popular in the South); all over him like flies on s***; all over him like stink on poop, like mud on pigs, like mustard on a hot dog, like fleas on a dog, etc.
answered Mar 24, 2014 at 10:22
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I've never seen flies on s***. Only on shit. I wonder if the asterisks attract them? ;-)– David MCommented Mar 24, 2014 at 18:52
A quick search shows the phrase dates to at least to the 1970s, as quoted in The Miami News (Mar 23, 1974):
Exuding boyish Innocence, he described how, upon arriving at the apartment building, she had invited him for coffee and then "was all over me like a cheap suit."
It's taken from a review of a TV movie called A Case of Rape by NBC, which premiered on February 20, 1974.
It means to cling, not to hang as an expensive suit would be crafted.
