the house down
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editProbably an ellipsis of bring the house down (“to garner enthusiastic or wild applause or laughter”).
Adverb
editthe house down (not comparable)
- (drag slang) Used as an intensifier: very, to a great degree; exceptionally.
- Synonyms: the house (ellipsis); see also Thesaurus:very
- 2021 December 2, Raffy Ermac, “Meet the Sickening Queens of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14”, in Out[1]:
- Hello-tis, it's Jorgeous! This spicy Latina dancing diva started drag at the age of 16 and never looked back. A fierce performer who was born to do drag, Jorgeous is looking to dance the house down boots all the way to the top.
- 2024 September 12, Sam Damshenas, “‘A new direction for the franchise’: Drag Race UK stars on “mind-blowing” season 6”, in Gay Times[3]:
- A musical theatre queen that can sing and “crochet” the house down, Saki [Yew] is eager to compete in the Rusical and girl-group challenge as “it shows off what I was trained to do”.
Usage notes
edit- It can modify verbs, adjectives or nouns. Often used together with boots for further emphasis (e.g., boots the house down, the house down boots or the house boots down).