Real-mccoy Definition

noun

(idiomatic) The genuine thing, neither a substitute nor an imitation.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:
  • real stuff
  • real thing
  • the original
  • the genuine article
  • the real thing

Origin of Real-mccoy

  • How “MacKay” became “McCoy” is unclear; first attested with this spelling in Canada in 1881. In James S. Bond's The Rise and Fall of the "Union club": or, Boy life in Canada, a character utters, "By jingo! yes; so it will be It's the 'real McCoy,' as Jim Hicks says. Nobody but a devil can find us there."

    From Wiktionary

  • Corruption of Scots the real MacKay, this latter attested in 1856 as “A drappie o’ the real MacKay” (A drop of the real MacKay).

    From Wiktionary

  • The term is the subject of many folk etymologies, discussed at the Wikipedia entry.

    From Wiktionary

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