Have to ever wondered whether something is actually authentic or not, only to be told that it really is the real McCoy?
The origin of this phrase is said to be a boxer who was called Kid McCoy, and was a good boxer back in the days at the end of the 19th century.
Now apparently he looked quite meek and mild outside the ring, and so when people saw him they could not believe that he was actually a prize fighter and ruthless in the ring.
Hence people often had to insist that he really was the real McCoy, and so the phrase stuck outside and long after the original McCoy was long forgotten, to refer to anything that is the genuine article, the real deal, the real McCoy, if you will.
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