in poynt to

Middle English

Phrase

in poynt to

  1. (with infinitive verb) on the brink of, on the verge of, about to
    • c. 1368, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, as recorded c. 1440–1450 in Bodleian Library MS. Fairfax 16, folio 130r:
      Al is ylyche goode to me / Ioy or sorowe wherso hyt be / For I haue felynge in no thynge / But as it were a mased thynge / Alway in poynt to falle a down
      Everything is equally good to me— / Joy or sorrow, however it might be— / For I feel nothing about anything, / But am like some dazed thing, / Always on the brink of falling down.

References

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