By hooke or crooke.

John Heywood (1497?-1580?) English playwright and epigrammist
Proverbes, Part 1, ch. 11 (1546)
    (Source)

The phrase most likely derives from English tenant rights to gather firewood "by hook or by crook" -- as much loose timber as could be pulled down from branches by a (shepherd's) crook, or cut with from underbrush by a (pruning) billhook. The phrase first appears in the 14th Century.

 
Added on 27-Apr-11 | Last updated 13-Jul-20
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: ,
More quotes by Heywood, John

Thoughts? Comments? Corrections? Feedback?