fantastic
Related to fantastic: Fantastic fiction
trip the light fantastic
To dance. Taken from the John Milton poem L'Allegro: "Come and trip it as ye go / On the light fantastic toe." Of course, the best part of a wedding is when everyone trips the light fantastic into the wee hours of the morning.
See also: fantastic, light, trip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
trip the light fantastic
Jocular to dance. Shall we go trip the light fantastic?
See also: fantastic, light, trip
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
trip the light fantastic
Dance, as in Let's go out tonight and trip the light fantastic. This expression was originated by John Milton in L'Allegro (1632): "Come and trip it as ye go, On the light fantastick toe." The idiom uses trip in the sense of "a light, tripping step," and although fantastick was never the name of any particular dance, it survived and was given revived currency in James W. Blake's immensely popular song, The Sidewalks of New York (1894).
See also: fantastic, light, trip
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
trip the light fantastic
dance. humorousThis expression comes from the invitation to dance in John Milton 's poem ‘L'Allegro’ ( 1645 ): ‘Come, and trip it as ye go On the light fantastic toe’.
See also: fantastic, light, trip
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
trip the light fantastic
To dance.
See also: fantastic, light, trip
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
trip the light fantastic, to
To dance. This locution was coined by John Milton, who wrote, “Come, and trip it as ye go, On the light fantastick toe” (“L’Allegro,” 1632). For some reason it caught on (although fantastick was not then, and never became, the name of a particular dance). James W. Blake used it in the lyrics to a very popular Gay Nineties song, “The Sidewalks of New York” (1894): “We tripped the light fantastic—On the sidewalks of New York.”
See also: light, trip
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
trip the light fantastic
Dance. The phrase comes from John Milton's poem “L'Allegro”: “Come and trip it as ye go / On the light fantastic toe.” “Trip” did not mean to stub your toe and fall. On the contrary it meant “to move lightly and nimbly.”
See also: fantastic, light, trip
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
- trip the light fantastic
- trip the light fantastic, to
- toe-to-toe
- go toe to toe with someone
- go toe-to-toe with (someone)
- go toe-to-toe
- go toe to toe
- stub
- stub (one's) toe
- stub (one's) toe on (something)