Trivet

Posted by ESC March 03, 2000In reply to Trivet posted by Bruce Kahl on February 29, 2000

will someone enlighten me to the meaning of the phrase "you're as right as a trivet"?

It means perfection.
The trivet is a metallic plate-stand with three legs designed to hold a plate of hot toast. I am unsure as to WHY it means what it does but see the last entry in the following:

Roget's Thesaurus: Entry 650 (Perfection)

Adj. perfect, faultless; indefective[obs], indeficient[obs], indefectible; immaculate, spotless, impeccable; free from imperfection &c. 651; unblemished, uninjured &c. 659; sound, sound as a roach; in perfect condition; scathless[obs], intact, harmless; seaworthy &c. (safe) 644; right as a trivet

Mr. Hendrickson agrees with you. But he also offers another theory:
RIGHT AS A TRIVET - "Excellent, perfect. An old tale says 'trivet' is a pronounciation of Truefit, the name of a London wigmaker whose wigs were perfect. But the facts do not bear this out. Originally, the phrase was 'steady as a trivet' and referred to the fact that three-legged trivets or tripods stand firm on almost any surface. Today a trivet is a small metal plate with short legs often put under a hot dish to protect a table." From Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).