Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
prep_phrase
Trying to achieve a particular task, often with difficulty.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep_phrase
Lost.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep_phrase
Having lost one's mind; insane.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep_phrase
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see over, the, river, and, through, the, woods.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Originally based on a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia Maria Child, this phrase was eventually turned into one of the many various Christmas carols and then soon developed its own meaning in the English lexicon. See the Wikipedia article for more information.
