Meaning & use
Old Saint Nick
Last updated
Meaning
proper nounproperinformal
A cheerful, informal name for Santa Claus, the imaginary man who brings gifts to children at Christmas.
Grammar: Used as a name, so it takes no article: Old Saint Nick is coming, not the Old Saint Nick.
Patterns
- Old Saint Nick brings something
- wait for Old Saint Nick
The children left cookies out for Old Saint Nick on Christmas Eve.
In the song, Old Saint Nick comes down the chimney with a bag of toys.
My grandfather always called Santa Claus 'Old Saint Nick'.
Common combinations
- Old Saint Nick is coming
- Go to sleep now — Old Saint Nick is coming tonight.
- a visit from Old Saint Nick
- The poem tells the story of a visit from Old Saint Nick.
- dress up as Old Saint Nick
- He dressed up as Old Saint Nick for the school party.
- Old Saint Nick's reindeer
- The kids asked where Old Saint Nick's reindeer were parked.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Santa Claus
- The standard, neutral name; Old Saint Nick is more informal and mostly appears in songs, poems, and stories.
- Father Christmas
- The traditional British name for the same figure; Old Saint Nick is used in both American and British English but sounds more playful.
- Kris Kringle
- Another informal name for Santa, mainly American; Old Saint Nick is more common in Christmas songs.
Commonly confused: Old Saint Nick or Saint Nicholas?
Old Saint Nick vs Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas was a real Christian bishop in history, while Old Saint Nick usually refers to the modern Christmas gift-bringer. They are related, but only the latter is a nickname for Santa.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Old Saint Nick' correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a proper noun, Old Saint Nick needs capital letters and takes no article, so 'a Old Saint Nick' and lowercase 'old saint nick' are wrong; it is also singular, so 'are coming' does not agree.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Old Saint Nick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.