back forty

American  

Or back 40

noun

1. remote, usually uncultivated acreage on a large piece of land, as on a farm or ranch.

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Etymology

Origin of back forty

Apparently because forty acres was a typical size for such a piece of land

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

back forty

So, you’re not saying he was a special agent going back forty years?

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 24, 2019

And, here, it’s instructive again to go back forty years.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 11, 2019

“Main man, you’re my support,” it begins, “your two strong legs, your back forty years against a brick wall.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2012

Its history and experience in government reach back forty centuries.

From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

If he could have called back forty years, the responsibility would have rested on strong shoulders and a confident brain.

From Charles Lewis Cocke Founder of Hollins College by William Robert Lee Smith