put down roots

Idioms & Phrases

put down roots

Settle somewhere, become established, as in We've put down roots here and don't want to move away. This metaphoric expression, first recorded in 1921, likens the rooting of a plant to human settlement.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Put down roots is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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"Jim," she said earnestly, "if I was put down there in the middle of the night, I could find my way all over that little town; and along the river to the next town, where my grandmother lived. My feet remember all the little paths through the woods, and where the big roots stick out to trip you. I ain't never forgot my own country."

-Willa Cather

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