daily dozen

daily dozen idiom
Physical exercise, as in Helen walks two miles every morning—that's her daily dozen. This term originally referred to a set of twelve specific calisthenic exercises to be performed every day. They were devised by a famous Yale University football coach, Walter Camp (1859-1925), and came into general use in the early 1900s. Despite the physical fitness craze of the late 1900s, these exercises and their name are no longer taken literally, but the term survives in a very general way.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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