I know, it’s just an expression, but what does it mean? People don’t usually stomp very much, except when crushing grapes for wine. Where did it come from?
Wherever you out your feet on a regular basis.
One foot at a time or jumping up and down.
Neighborhood,home state,hang-out,church, lodge,YM or W,pool hall,watering hole etc.
Shucks, it could even be your living room.
What ever place is you!
EZ
Maybe it’s that I’ve only had one cuppa joe this morning, but that was almost poetic!
Perhaps I should have worded the OP a bit more clearly. I understand the meaning of the phrase; I’m asking for its orgins. What was the original “stomping ground” that led to the phrase - the etymological origins?
The original expression was stamping ground. It’s almost certainly an Americanism, dating(so far) from 1821. This from the OED.
None of my usual word sites contribute anything about it.
Many animals stomp to denote their territory, both by depositing scent and generating noise. So, basically, an animal’s stomping ground is where you’re likely to find it. By analogy, a human’s stomping ground is the same thing.
There is this at “Common Errors in English”:
From your bearings and the cuppa bit----how’re things up there in the most northwest corner?
My money is on Finagle. Think about bighorn sheep, bison and other large male mammals when it’s time for rutting.
On-Line <Dictionary.com>
stomp·ing ground (stmpng, stôm-)
n. A customary territory or favorite gathering place. Also called stamping ground.
IOW Where the elite meet to eat.
Cracker Barrel, Litton’s, Ruby Tuesday, KMA, Club Le Conte, Neyland Stadium, etc. etc. Anyplace a group of friends gather for one reason or another.
That was certainly my first reaction to the OP. It’s stamping, not stomping.
*stamping *may be the original, but I’ve never heard anything but *stomping *in the US – grew up in the midwest and have lived on the US West Coast for many years.
If You had lived in the US between 1800-1850, you probably would have been saying that you NEVER heard of stomping.