Jill: I'm worried that my grandmother may not live much longer. She's been sick for so many years. Jane: Well, if it's any comfort, I've heard that a creaking door hangs longest.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
a creaking door hangs longest — Usually said consolingly about, by, or to the infirm, though sometimes implying that a weak or faulty thing continues to be a nuisance the longest. Gate sometimes replaces door. 1776 T. COGAN John Buncle, Junior I. vi. They say a creaking gate… … Proverbs new dictionary
gate — see a creaking door hangs longest one man may steal a horse, while another may not look over a hedge … Proverbs new dictionary
literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… … Universalium
