From the Latin word "nonus," which means nine, it originally referred to the ninth hour of the day counting from sunrise, which, on the year-average, is 6:00 am. This put nonus at 3:00 pm, or halfway between midday and sunset.
Would you believe this casual saying dates back almost 2,000 years ago? Pliny the Younger, also known as Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, was a Roman senator in the mid first century A.D. who is one of the few people from Antiquity who historians can prove existed. Pliny is known for a large number of letters he had written that managed to survive the years (they still exist today). This passage is the root of today's phrase: "There is nothing to write about, you say. Well then, write and let me know just this - that there is nothing to write about." The current version dates to the 19th century.
The phrase meaning the last chance dates back at least to the 14th century. The earliest known reference appears in Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde.
Meaning: Something that once experienced will prove to be less than expected.
Example: They say being rich is not all it's cracked up to be. But then again, neither is being poor.
Origin: "Crack" can be used as a noun meaning a statement or comment. Consider the term "wise crack". As a verb "crack", dating back to the 15th century, was to praise or boast. If you "cracked up" something you sang its praises. Therefore something that is "not all it's cracked up to be" is something that is not as good as you were told.
