Information about trip the light fantastic in the AudioEnglish.org dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. where the CONSUL himself tripped it on the light ‘Three west Wiltshire towns tripped the light fantastic as they got the festive season underway.’ ‘He can still trip the light fantastic as good as ever and his many friends have wished him many more years of health and happiness.’ ‘When that music starts up again, I want to feel you in my arms, tripping the light fantastic.’ In one account it is considered syntactically not "well-formed". Online dating has made acronyms more inscrutable—and more fun—than ever. [8] Part of the chorus: "Boys and girls together, me and Mamie O'Rourke / Tripped the light fantastic / On the sidewalks of New York." Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "trip the light fantastic"): mosh; slam; slam dance; thrash (dance the slam dance), jig (dance a quick dance with leaping and kicking motions), grind (dance by rotating the pelvis in an erotically suggestive way, often while in contact with one's partner such that the dancers' legs are interlaced), bump (dance erotically or dance with the pelvis thrust forward), jive (dance to jive music; dance the jive), tap; tapdance (dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes), contra danse; contradance; contredanse; country-dance (perform a contradance), break; break-dance; break dance (do a break dance), Somebody ----s something To dance, especially in an imaginative or 'fantastic' manner. [1] It is often used in a humorous vein. See also: fantastic, light, trip. AudioEnglish Definitions... Just One Click Away! The word had long been used to mean 'dance nimbly'. This was what the word meant when it appeared in the language in the fourteenth century. The idiom trip the light fantastic has its roots in the poem L’Allegro written by John Milton: “Come, and trip it as you go / On the light fantastic toe.”. A leerie loves the edge of night. [4] In one account it is considered syntactically not "well-formed". What does trip the light fantastic mean? By 'trip', Milton didn't mean 'catch one's feet and stumble'. In this case, the word trip means to dance nimbly and the word fantastic means extremely fancy. All rights reserved.This page URL: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tri1.htmLast modified: 29 December 2001. Jest, and youthful Jollity, The 'light fantastic toe' was the form that was used when the phrase first circulated, as in this extract from The Times, November 1803: "A splendid ball was also given; In one account it is considered syntactically not "well-formed". “Corporal,” “General,” “Sergeant,” “Private”: What’s The Order Of The Military Ranks? I know what it means, but why the light fantastic part? In 1908, a West Virginia school journal suggested that the phrase was overused. To "trip the light fantastic" is to dance nimbly or lightly, or to move in a pattern to musical accompaniment.It is often used in a humorous vein. World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–. Definition of trip the light fantastic in the AudioEnglish.org Dictionary. Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek, 1960. Pegasus 2007 p. 101, "Since Robin Hood (Anonymous, set by Thomas Weelkes", http://www.marillion.com/music/lyric.htm?id=32/, http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/trip-the-light-fantastic.html, http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010320, http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/trip_the_light_fantastic/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trip_the_light_fantastic&oldid=962502130, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 14 June 2020, at 12:29. Lyrics transcribed by Disneyclips.com. This apparently obscure expression originates from the works of … More Songs from Mary Poppins Returns. “Affect” vs. “Effect”: Use The Correct Word Every Time. "Elle a ri." • TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC (verb) A You’re probably that much ahead of some readers, so let me nod in the direction of all those who do know, while telling everyone else that to trip the light fantastic is an extravagant way of referring to dancing, a phrase rather more common years ago than it is now. Chaucer used it that way as early as 1386, in The Miller's Tale: In twenty manere koude he trippe and daunce. which includes the lines: Come, and trip it as ye go, On the contrary it meant “to move lightly and nimbly.”, A CIVIL servant from Perry Barr is set to, OLDER Sandwell people are being invited to. Of course, the best part of a wedding is when everyone trips the light fantastic into the wee hours of the morning. Know your HNGs from your FWBs? Let's go out tonight and trip the light fantastic. Those lyrics were probably inspired by "The Ballet Girl", a song popularized by Tony Pastor at his Bowery "Opera House" in the mid-19th century that had as the chorus: "While she danced on her light fantastic toe, / Round the stage she used to go; / Had it not been for a man named Joe, / She might have belonged to me."[10]. In 1908, a West Virginia school journal suggested that the phrase was overused. Select your currency from the list and click Donate. The phrase is from the mind and pen of John Milton and appeared in his lyric poem L’Allegro, published in 1645. Later it was used in a truncated form without the final word. The idiom "to trip the light fandango" was already in usage in the US as a phrase for carefree dancing in a Spanish or Latin American fandango style by the time of World War II (see, for example, its usage in the recording "South America", Vitaphone Release 1460A, 1945). [2][3] In 1908, a West Virginia school journal suggested that the phrase was overused. Q From Lois Culver: To trip the light fantastic.I know what it means, but why the light fantastic part?. Losing that — as well as the ancient meaning of the first word and the original sense of fantastic — makes the whole saying more than a little obscure to us moderns. Q From Lois Culver: To trip the light fantastic. ". In unreproved pleasures free ... We’ve lost the sense now, because to trip here doesn’t mean to catch one’s foot and stumble or fall, but rather to move lightly and nimbly, to dance. He's got the gift of second sight. Dance. Won't you trip a little light fantastic Come on, trip a little light fantastic with me! Its origin is attributed to Milton's 1645 poem L'Allegro,[2][7][8] [5] It is considered "opaque because it is impossible to construct a meaningful literal-scene from the formal structure."[6]. A You’re probably that much ahead of some readers, so let me nod in the direction of all those who do know, while telling everyone else that to trip the light fantastic is an extravagant way of referring to dancing, a phrase rather more common years ago than it is now. The Italian title can be translated as “the cheerful man”, and the poem is directed to the goddess Mirth: Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary “Epidemic” vs. “Pandemic” vs. “Endemic”: What Do These Terms Mean? The mountain-nymph, sweet Liberty; Me and Mamie O'Rourke, Look it up now! (January 1908) "Correct English", Chafe, Wallace L. (May 1968) "Idiomaticity as an Anomaly in the Chomskyan Paradigm", Smith, Chrysti M. (2006) "Trip the Light Fantastic", Himes, Chester; All Shot Up. fantastic toe. All rights reserved. Just to reinforce how mysterious the phrase now is to some people, one online site renders the relevant line as “We dance life’s fantastics”. This phrase evolved over time.

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