subs. phr. (colloquial).—A person of domestic tastes; a HOME-BIRD (q.v.); a HOUSE-DOVE (q.v.); as adj. = fond of remaining at home; the reverse of GAD-ABOUT (q.v.).
1814. AUSTEN, Mansfield Park, v. A talking pretty young woman like Miss Crawford is always pleasant society to an indolent, STAY-AT-HOME man.
1855. C. KINGSLEY, Westward Ho! xv. Go forth and find us STAY-AT-HOMES new markets for our ware.
1863. GASKELL, Sylvia’s Lovers, ix. “Cold!” said her father, “what do ye STAY-AT-HOMES know about cold?”
1883. Pall Mall Gazette, 2 Nov. The quantity of admiration might make a modest STAY-AT-HOME dizzy to contemplate.
