† cock-crowenadj.
Obsolete.
1. Of broth, stew, etc.: reheated for eating having been made the previous day (or earlier); stale, no longer fresh. Frequently in cock-crowen kale. Scottish in later use.With reference to the idea that a cockerel or rooster has crowed at the start of a new day since the broth, stew, etc., was made.With quot. a1456 cf. wort n.1 1b.
ΚΠ
a1456 (a1426) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 676 And of his wyf haþe noone oþer cheer But cokkrowortes [= cokkrowe wortes] vn-to his souper.
1602 J. Manningham Diary 21 Nov. (1976) 132 He takes a speciall grace to use an old worne sentence, as though anie would like to be served with cockcrowen pottage.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 262 Then was there brought some cock-crowne keale.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Cock-crow'n kail, broth heated a second time;..such as the cock has crow'd over, being a day old.
2. Of a person: old, past his or her prime. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > old-fashioned or antiquated > stale, trite, or hackneyed
stale1550
cock-crowen1577
hackney1590
threadbare1598
worn-out1713
hackish1868
thread-worn1888
timeworn1901
old hat1949
connect-the-dots1971
join-the-dots1988
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 2 Gifts, and rewardes, retayne the Cockrowen Courtiers, yea suche as haue one of their feete alredy in the graue.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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adj.a1456