little old ladyn.

1696 tr. G. de Courtilz de Sandras Mem. Count de Rochefort 205 I askt them if what she reproacht the little old Lady with one Eye [Fr. la petite Borgnesse] for, was true.

1782 London Mag. June 260/2 The little old lady looked in the middle of this immense load of millinery like a fly in a syllabub... It was impossible to tell which had the greatest tremor, her limbs or her feathers; however, she majestically tottered to the top of the room.

1821 Ladies' Lit. Cabinet 29 Dec. 61/2 A little old lady was placed by the side of the elegante.

1870 Indianapolis Jrnl. 12 Oct. 7/2 One of the nicest little old ladies..wears a frilled cap, with grey curls twisted in front and resting on her cheeks.

1905 J. A. Lemcke Reminisc. Indianian 119 Everybody on board,..under the ringmastership of the little old lady with the liverpad, fell to ‘parbuckling’ heavy salt barrels up the steep, slippery river bank.

1962 Independent (Pasadena, Calif.) 12 Apr. 14/5 The ‘little old ladies’ I know..are adorable. Love 'em when they're crotchety. Love even more those..whose gentle smiles come like a benediction.

1995 Common Ground Jan. 12/1 As a member of a relatively invisible and still stereotyped group—as a ‘little old lady’ or LOL—I resolved that I would do my bit in raising consciousness.

2015 Warwick (Queensland) Daily News (Nexis) 11 Dec. 2 It's the sales pitch told by every second hand car salesmen... A small car in immaculate condition, owned by a little old lady who only ever drove it to church on a Sunday.