real McCoy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Corruption of Scots the real MacKay, this latter attested in 1856 as “A drappie o’ the real MacKay” (A drop of the real MacKay).[1][2][3] How “MacKay” became “McCoy” is unclear; first attested in the form “McCoy” in the US in 1908.[4]

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

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

the real McCoy

  1. (idiomatic) The genuine thing, neither a substitute nor an imitation.
    Synonym: real deal

Translations
Translations

References
  1. Scottish National Dictionary
  2. 2007 OED
  3. Susie Dent of the Oxford University Press, on February 8, 2008 broadcast of Countdown.
  4. Georgia Maas (2001-06-06), “real McCoy”, in The Mavens’ Word of the Day‎, archived from the original on 2002-03-14:
    It appears that the earliest citation with the spelling "McCoy" referring to whiskey is from 1908. This is from the Dictionary of Americanisms: "I took a good-size snort out of that big bottle [of furniture polish] in the middle....Have you none of the clear McCoy handy around the house? (Davenport, Butte Beneath X-Ray)

Further reading
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