good Samaritan

Related to good Samaritan: Good Samaritan law

good Samaritan

A person who selflessly helps others, especially those in distress. Taken from a parable in the Bible in which a Samaritan man was the only person who stopped to help a man who was robbed and beaten. Brad was hailed by the newspaper as a good Samaritan after he stepped in and helped a woman who was being robbed.
See also: good, Samaritan
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

good Samaritan

A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others, as in In this neighborhood you can't count on a good Samaritan if you get in trouble. This expression alludes to Jesus's parable about a Samaritan who rescues and cares for a stranger who had been robbed and badly hurt and had been ignored by a priest and a Levite (Luke 10:30-35). The Samaritans were considered a heretical group by other Jews, so by using a Samaritan for the parable, Jesus chose a person whom his listeners would find least likely to be worthy of concern. [c. 1600]
See also: good, Samaritan
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

good Samaritan

a charitable or helpful person.
In the Bible, Jesus tells the parable of a man who ‘went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves’ (Luke 10). The first two people who came across him lying stripped and wounded by the side of the road ‘passed by on the other side’. It was the third man, a Samaritan (i.e. a man from Samaria) who took pity on him and helped him.
See also: good, Samaritan
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a ˌgood Saˈmaritan

a person who gives help and sympathy to people who need it: He stole money from an old woman while pretending to be a good Samaritan and help carry her shopping.This comes from a story told by Jesus in the Bible.
See also: good, Samaritan
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

good Samaritan

A selfless helper of anyone in distress. The term comes from the biblical story (Luke 10:30–35) told by Jesus. He compared the treatment accorded to a man, robbed and left half dead, by a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The first two passed him by, but the Samaritan took him to an inn and cared for him. Although the term “good Samaritan” does not appear in any of the translations of this parable, it somehow evolved over the years.
See also: good, Samaritan
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • a good Samaritan
  • change off
  • frog in a small pond
  • big fish in a small pond
  • big frog in a small pond
  • a big fish in a small pond
  • a big frog in a small pond
  • pond
  • hanger-on
  • mensch
References in periodicals archive
The Parable of the Good Samaritan speaks to us now with a renewed message because of the tremendous changes in our world and context.
Our world needs a network of compassion
Be a Good Samaritan. Help some indigent sick we're supporting, like Dante C.
How can I gain eternal life?
The good Samaritan was wearing a black zip-AaAeAeA collar sweater, blue jean brown work boots and a dark baseball hat.
Eugene police looking for 'hero' who saved life with CPR
The police will not force any Good Samaritan in procuring information or anything else.
Good Samaritan Guidelines
Mary Johnson, 93, wants to meet her 'Good Samaritan' who helped her when she was mugged at Home Bargains in St John's, below
Help Mary, 93, to find shopping Samaritan; WOMAN SLIPPED PS20 INTO POCKET OF VICTIM AFTER BAG WAS STOLEN
Wouldn't we all like to do what that good Samaritan did whenever we come across someone in dire need?
How to overcome the good Samaritan syndrome
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society (good sam.com) is using big data and analytics technology to help improve health and wellness services for seniors, so they can live safely and more independently in their homes.
Analytics helps seniors to live safely at home
GOOD SAMARITAN A wooden box stands open on the ground, Empty of treasures, bandages perhaps Soaked well in oil their owner used to wrap Up bleeding wounds around this man he found Beside the stream and road, where others bound For worship walk on by, their periapts And tassels keeping them from harm.
Good Samaritan
The clinic encourages on-the-clock volunteerism, provides free dermatologic care to low-income patients through the Good Samaritan Clinic and opened the first LEED-certified clinic in the state in 2011.
Johnson Dermatology
Our selection of the best of your messages to our Twitter and Facebook sites on good Samaritan jailed after punching drug dealer attacking woman This is the epitome of everything that is wrong with the judicial system in this country...
Tweets & Posts
A GOOD Samaritan who came to the aid of a woman when she collapsed in the street has been recognised for his bravery.
Praise for hero who helped woman
The good Samaritan was assaulted in the alleyway between Cotterill Road and Claude Road in Cathays at about 5pm on Wednesday, August 21.
Did you see man hurt in street attack?
The most wonderful example of how differences can be healed by bowing humbly before the other person is afforded us in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. Often enough we read it as if it is just about caring for our neighbor, and it surely is about that.
Like a good neighbor: the Good Samaritan points the way to a humbler, holier church
A few states are working to change that situation through so-called 911 Good Samaritan laws, which offer immunity from prosecution for drug law violations discovered during an emergency response.
Safer Samaritans: 911, not jail