Word.ws English Dictionary

and a partridge in a pear tree

Syllables: and a par·tridge in a pear tree/ænd ə ˈpɑːtɹɪd͡ʒ ɪn ə ˌpɛə ˈtɹiː/US/ænd ə ˈpɑɹtɹɪd͡ʒ ən ə ˌpɛɚ ˈtɹi/

and a partridge in a pear tree phrase: used at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length.

Phrase

and a partridge in a pear tree

  1. (humorous) Used at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length.
    • Linnie McAllister: ...five boys, six girls, two drivers,... and a partridge in a pear tree.1990, John Hughes, Chris Columbus, Home Alone
    • Her dearly departed husband had left no will. He'd always meant to get around to it, but you know how it is, just kept putting it off. I was to raise Mr. Doughal in front of two lawyers, two witnesses, the Doughals' three grown children, and a partridge in a pear tree.1995, Laurell K[aye] Hamilton, chapter 19, in Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter; 3), New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, published 2002, →ISBN

Examples of and a partridge in a pear tree in a sentence

  • In this corner, one missing Shroud, one impossibly and thoroughly dead corpse, one dedicated and deadly vampire warlord, three holy Knights, twenty-nine fallen angels, and a partridge in a pear tree.2003 August 5, Jim Butcher, Death Masks (The Dresden Files; 5), New York, N.Y.: Roc Books, →ISBN, page 95:
  • I have one visible minority, one woman who said she's disabled, one with an indigenous background, two who indicated poverty … and a partridge in a pear tree.2011, Sophie Tamas, Life after Leaving: The Remains of Spousal Abuse (Writing Lives: Ethnographic Narratives), Walnut Creek, Calif.: Left...

Origin of and a partridge in a pear tree

From the traditional Christmas song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” first published around 1780, in which earlier lines are repeated and added to with every succeeding line that is sung. The last round of one version of the song that is commonly sung today ends: “On the twelfth day of Christmas, / My true love sent to me / Twelve drummers drumming, / Eleven pipers piping, / Ten lords a-leaping, / Nine ladies dancing, / Eight maids a-milking, / Seven swans a-swimming, / Six geese a-laying, / Five golden rings, / Four calling birds, / Three French hens, / Two turtledoves / And a partridge in a pear tree.”

Questions about and a partridge in a pear tree

What does and a partridge in a pear tree mean?
And a partridge in a pear tree means used at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length.
How do you use and a partridge in a pear tree in a sentence?
In this corner, one missing Shroud, one impossibly and thoroughly dead corpse, one dedicated and deadly vampire warlord, three holy Knights, twenty-nine fallen angels, and a partridge in a pear tree.
What part of speech is and a partridge in a pear tree?
And a partridge in a pear tree is a phrase.
How do you pronounce and a partridge in a pear tree?
And a partridge in a pear tree is pronounced /ænd ə ˈpɑːtɹɪd͡ʒ ɪn ə ˌpɛə ˈtɹiː/ (UK).

Words near and a partridge in a pear tree in the dictionary

  1. ancyrocephalids
  2. ancyroid
  3. Ancón
  4. and
  5. and a half
  6. and a partridge in a pear tree
  7. and alike
  8. and all
  9. and all that
  10. and all the rest of it
  11. and all this

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: and a partridge in a pear tree (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-and a partridge in a pear tree.wav.

Cite this entry: “and a partridge in a pear tree.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/and_a_partridge_in_a_pear_tree. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.