The First State
noun phrase

- a nickname for the state of Delaware

Collins Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to officially ratify the United States Constitution, thus claiming the title “The First State”.

The oldest continuously inhabited city in the US is St. Augustine on Florida’s Atlantic coast. In 1513, the explorer Juan Ponce de Leon stepped ashore, called it La Florida, and claimed it for Spain. Then, in 1565, conquistador Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles established a settlement there, which he named in honour of the Catholic saint St. Augustine.

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U.S STATE QUIZ

Can you match the following 7 states to their nicknames?

Nevada - New Mexico - Arkansas - Iowa - Maine - Oregon - West Virginia

- The Hawkeye State

- The Beaver State

- The Mountain State

- The Land of Enchantment

- The Natural State

- The Silver State

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- The Hawkeye State = IOWA - a tribute to Native American Chief Black Hawk, who died in 1838 in the area that would become southeast Iowa.

- The Pine Tree State = MAINE - there are about 12 million acres of forests in the sparsely inhabited north of Maine and the white pine tree is an official state symbol. On the other side of the northern U.S., the state of Washington also has a nickname dedicated to its forests: the Evergreen State.

- The Beaver State = OREGON - one of a few state nicknames inspired by its wildlife. Louisiana is the Pelican State; Utah is the Beehive State; and Wisconsin is the Badger State.

- The Mountain State = WEST VIRGINIA - you might be tempted to think of the Rockies when you think of mountains in America, but it’s West Virginia which gets a state nickname inspired by its purple mountains, the Appalachians range which covers most of the state.

- The Land of Enchantment = NEW MEXICO - is one of only two state nicknames that doesn’t contain the word “state”. The other is Alaska, named “The Last Frontier”.

- The Natural State = ARKANSAS - this is a tricky one as every one of the U.S. states is full of natural beauty. But it’s Arkansas, with its 52 separate state parks, that gets a direct shout-out to its natural beauty on its license plates.

- The Silver State = NEVADA - in 1853, a massive deposit of silver ore was discovered in what was then called the Utah Territory, land that would eventually become part of Nevada. During the ensuing “silver rush”, silver would be found in other U.S. states, including Arizona and Colorado.

Adapted from Reader's Digest

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SYNONYMS

Blue Hen State, Corporate Capital, Diamond State, FIRST STATE

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Most Americans don’t know that THE FIRST STATE is the nickname of DELAWARE.”

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