Trivial, worthless. Beans apparently have been considered of little value since the thirteenth century. Chaucer, in Troilus and Criseyde (ca. 1380), wrote, “Swich [such] arguments ne been nat worth a bene.” The hill part of the expression refers to a common method of planting beans. Instead of arranging the seeds in a row, they can be planted in small clumps of four or five seeds in a little mound or hill of soil. This practice is followed principally in American home gardens (rather than by commercial growers), and indeed the expression “hill of beans” originated in America in the nineteenth century.
Related and Similar Terms
- Trivial: Insignificant, minor, inconsequential.
- Worthless: Valueless, useless, meaningless.
- Paltry: Small, meager, scanty.
- Nominal: Token, minimal, trivial amount.
Proverbs & Expressions
- A dime a dozen: Something so common that its value is negligible.
- Not worth a brass farthing: Another archaic term for something of no value.
- Peanuts: Used to describe something of very little value.
- Chicken feed: Insignificant; a very small amount of money.
Humor-Filled Quotes
- “All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.” – Grant Wood. (Milk: more valuable than beans? Apparently so, if the lightbulb moments occurred then!)
Literature, Books, Songs, and Movies
- Beans: A Poetic Food Memoir by Beatrice Potter; see its unique culinary explorations.
- Jack and the Beanstalk: The classic fairy tale where beans play a significant role.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck – Bean planting commonly seen in Depression-era farm settings.
Quiz Time! 🍽️
A Farewell Thought
Let’s not undervalue ourselves in fearing our contributions might be “a hill of beans.” Every bean in the pot adds to the nourishing stew of collective wisdom.
Warmly, Beanie McWiseacre
