Usage of the phrase in a nutshell was first seen around 77 A.D. in the work Natural History by Pliny the Elder: “Cicero hath recorded, that the poem of Homer called the Iliad, written on parchment, was enclosed within a nutshell.” In this instance, the phrase within a nutshell was used to illustrate something that ...

Where does the allusion in a nutshell come from?

Originally with allusion to a copy of Homer's Iliad which, as reported by Pliny the Elder, was supposedly small enough to be enclosed in the shell of a nut.

What is a nutshell in history?

in a nutshell: in a few words; in brief or concise form. ORIGIN. The phrase in a nutshell originated in an allusion to a copy of the Iliad (a Greek epic poem, ascribed to Homer, telling how Achilles killed Hector at the climax of the Trojan War) which was supposedly small enough to be enclosed in the shell of a nut.