Joined at the hip is an American idiom of fairly recent origin. We will look at the meaning of the term joined at the hip, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
Joined at the hip means inseparable, two people who are so close they are almost considered one person. The idiom joined at the hip first appeared in the 1960s in American English. It is assumed that it stems from the phenomenon of conjoined twins, formerly known as Siamese twins. For many people, the term Siamese twins is now considered offensive. Many have tried to tie the idiom joined at the hip to a specific set of conjoined twins such as the most famous pair, Chang and Eng Bunker who lived in the 1800s. However, not only were the Bunkers joined at the chest and not the hip, they are also far removed from the time period in which the idiom joined at the hip was first used. A similar idiom is attached at the hip, it carries the same definition.
Examples
“Jonathan and Kim are so close that they are usually joined at the hip, if she can’t talk him out of doing the show she wants to ensure he is dating people of a certain standard.” (The Sun)
Joined at the hip as the two appear to have instantly become, not everyone seems moved by them being together and seemingly growing closer by the minute. (The Inquistr)
This Thelma and Louise are NOT of movie fame, just two ladies I know who are joined at the hip and talk each morning before breakfast . . . after breakfast, too. (The Anniston Star)
The Seahawks and Packers have seemingly been attached at the hip ever since the infamous Fail Mary game back in 2012, when replacement referees awarded a touchdown to the Seahawks even though every replay showed Green Bay coming down with the ball. (USA Today)