The Cheese Stands Alone In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "The Cheese Stands Alone", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

Helen Nguyen

2021-02-21 11:02

Meaning of The Cheese Stands Alone

The Cheese Stands Alone American spoken language

Used to say someone is alone in a certain situation

I don't know anyone in the party, so the cheese stands alone.

Marry has just transferred to my class, and nobody is willing to make friends with her. The cheese stands alone.

Other phrases about:

odd man out

Someone who is different from others of a group.

on (one's) Pat Malone

Be on one's own.

like a shag on a rock

Isolated, lonely, or abandoned

bach (it)

To live alone as a bachelor

all by (one's) lonesome

Used to refer to someone who is entirely alone, without anyone else.

Origin of The Cheese Stands Alone

*This phrase derives from a children’s song named The Farmer in the Dell and the cheese is chosen last (Source: socialknx.com)*

This phrase derives from a children’s song named The Farmer in the Dell. The song comes together with a game. All the children stand in a circle, with one child in the center who plays the farmer. The farmer chooses another child as the wife, who chooses another as a son/daughter, who chooses a nurse, and so on. The last child chosen is the cheese. The cheese doesn’t choose anyone, and stands alone in the center of the circle.

Lyrics:

The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell,

...

The cheese stands alone, the cheese stands alone,

Hi-ho, the derry-o, the cheese stands alone.

This song was originally in German, and first appeared in writing in the year 1826. Immigrants took the song to America, where it appeared in English in the year 1883, and in other countries later on. People often use this expression in relation to the game. However, occasionally someone uses it as an unusual way to emphasize that they are solitary. (Source: writingexplained)