Helen Nguyen
2021-02-21 11:02
The Cheese Stands Alone American spoken language
Used to say someone is alone in a certain situation
I don't know anyone in the party, so the cheese stands alone.
Marry has just transferred to my class, and nobody is willing to make friends with her. The cheese stands alone.
Be on one's own.
Isolated, lonely, or abandoned
To live alone as a bachelor
Used to refer to someone who is entirely alone, without anyone else.
This phrase derives from a children’s song named The Farmer in the Dell. The song comes together with a game. All the children stand in a circle, with one child in the center who plays the farmer. The farmer chooses another child as the wife, who chooses another as a son/daughter, who chooses a nurse, and so on. The last child chosen is the cheese. The cheese doesn’t choose anyone, and stands alone in the center of the circle.
Lyrics:
The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell,
...
The cheese stands alone, the cheese stands alone,
Hi-ho, the derry-o, the cheese stands alone.
This song was originally in German, and first appeared in writing in the year 1826. Immigrants took the song to America, where it appeared in English in the year 1883, and in other countries later on. People often use this expression in relation to the game. However, occasionally someone uses it as an unusual way to emphasize that they are solitary. (Source: writingexplained)
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