from pillar to post

Possibly originally from post to pillar, perhaps a reference to the rapid movement of the ball in real tennis; The Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (1993) notes that from post to pillar dates to at least the 15th century.

• "Mr. [Charles] Babbage, in his work on the Economy of Manufactures, suggests a new plan of forwarding the mail. […] Mr. Babbage proposes the erection of pillars along each line of road; these pillars are to be connected by inclined wires, or iron rods, along which the letters, inclosed in cylinders attached to the rods by rings, are to slide; persons stationed on these columns are to forward the cylinders from each point, after having extracted the contents belonging to their own station. In this manner it is calculated that a letter might be sent (from pillar to post), to the farthest limits of the land in the course of a very small portion of time; […]"
• "Q. You applied to Secretary [George Sewall] Boutwell because you had ascertained you could not get redress anywhere else?—A. No; we were sent from pillar to post, and from post to pillar, and we got no satisfaction any way."
• "All these things, and others of like nature, are in their minds floating possibilities; in consequence of which they are sent from pillar to post in the realms of opinion, and are never anchored anywhere."
• "[…] gays are still hounded from pillar to post by the watchdogs of American society."
• "We campaigned like hell. On election day we went from pillar to post begging people to support us."
• "When the bill becomes an act, it will provide a big relief to people who now run from pillar to post and are forced to pay bribes to get their work done in government offices."
• "Back in August, the Toon ace [Joey Barton] was kicked from pillar to post by Karl Henry in a bone-crunching midfield battle at Molineux."
• "There was also a belief that they had been taken advantage of - "kicked from pillar to post, the bottom dogs in the labour market because of the inherent love of railmen for their jobs", according to one NUR member."
• "pushed from pillar to post... kicked from pillar to post... driven from pillar to post..."

• hither and thither