origin of phrase turtles all the way down
Turtles all the way down The exact origin of the phrase "turtles all the way down" is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down", the saying appears as early as 1838.[1] References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2][3] This mythology is frequently assumed to have originated in Hindu India. The final form of the saying is still well known and can be found in a variety of modern contexts.