What is the origin of the phrase 'neck of the woods'?

mk2norwich

Oh, dear.... This is another of those questions with many different 'answers'. As I lack any books of phrase origins, I googled this one, and, predictably, found quite an assortment of possible explanations. However, the one that sprang up the most times in my search was as follows: The phrase originates in eighteenth-century America. A 'neck' referred in those days to a narrow strip of wooded land. Over time, the meaning of the phrase was corrupted, and came to mean an area or neighbourhood in general. Sep 23 02, 10:00 PM

Siskin

Brewer's Dictionary doesn't come up with anything very exciting - A settlement (USA) in the forest, or slang for any area. Sep 24 02, 10:19 AM

ks6p

"Neck" had been used in English since around 1555 to describe a narrow strip of land, usually surrounded by water, based on its resemblance to the neck of an animal. But the Americans were the first to apply "neck" to a narrow stand of woods or, more importantly, to a settlement located in a particular part of the woods. In a country then largely covered by forests, your "neck of the woods" was your home, the first American neighborhood. http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/3/messages/388.html [Link added Mar. 2, 2008 by Zbeckabee] Mar 02 08, 4:52 AM