Around the houses

Origin of: Around the houses

Around the houses

The complete expression is to go (all) around the houses, a British expression from the mid-19th century and perhaps before, meaning to take a circuitous route to get from A to B, or figuratively take an unnecessarily long time to get to the point. It is also British rhyming slang for trousers, round the houses/trousers, which dates from around the same time.