there is no there there
there is no there there
The person, thing, or place in question has no distinctive or noteworthy importance, substance, or significance. The first "there" is sometimes written within quotation marks. The phrase was coined by American author Gertrude Stein in her 1937 autobiography Everybody's Autobiography. He has centered his whole life around the business he runs. If that ever goes away, well, there is no there there. I kept searching for the next new city where I would truly find myself, where I would be content in my own skin. But of course I eventually realized that, no matter where I went, there was no "there" there.
See also: no, there
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
- put (someone, something, or some place) on the map
- put on the map
- put somebody/something on the map
- put someone/something on the map
- put something on the map
- a one-trick pony
- one-trick pony
- pony
- a sight to behold
- tail end (of something)