real McCoy

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real McCoy

Where it comes from

Corruption of Scots the real MacKay, this latter attested in 1856 as “A drappie o’ the real MacKay” (A drop of the real MacKay). How “MacKay” became “McCoy” is unclear; first attested in the form “McCoy” in the US in 1908.

The term is the subject of many folk etymologies, discussed at the Wikipedia entry.

noun the real McCoy · real McKoy · real Macoy

dated, idiomatic The genuine thing, neither a substitute nor an imitation.
Similar: real deal

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MLA

"real McCoy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/real%20mccoy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

real McCoy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/real%20mccoy

Chicago

"real McCoy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/real%20mccoy.

BibTeX

@misc{real_mccoy_2026,
  title = {real McCoy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/real%20mccoy},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}