borrow
Related to borrow: borrow pit
adorn (oneself) with borrowed plumes
To make a showy display of something that is not truly one's own. I know you lied to me earlier about your involvement in this fair, so quit adorning yourself with borrowed plumes and tell me what you actually contributed.
See also: adorn, borrow, plume
be living on borrowed time
To be living or existing in a temporary and/or tenuous position, which may come to an end suddenly and abruptly. Accidents and disease can strike so unexpectedly that it feels like we're all living on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, living, on, time
beg, borrow, or steal
To acquire or accomplish something by any means necessary or available. I don't care if you have to beg, borrow, or steal to get it, I want that car and I want it now! I'm in such a jam, I can't even beg, borrow, or steal the money I need to pay my rent this month.
See also: steal
borrow from (someone or something)
1. Literally, to use something that belongs to another person, with the intent to return it later. A noun or pronoun can be used between "borrow" and "from." Because I found a date to the dance at the last minute, I just borrowed a dress and shoes from my sister. I ran out of art supplies so I had to start borrowing from Steve.
2. Of a work of some kind, to use elements from something else. That movie may be a comedy, but its plot borrows from crime films of the 1940s.
See also: borrow
borrow trouble
To do something that is unnecessary and likely to cause problems later. That kid isn't bullying you, so if you tattle on him to the teacher, you're definitely borrowing trouble.
See also: borrow, trouble
borrowed plumes
A showy display that is not truly one's own. I know you lied to me earlier, so quit adorning yourself with borrowed plumes and tell me what you really contributed to this event.
See also: borrow, plume
borrowed time
An uncertain length of time that may end soon or suddenly, bringing any activity, situation, or fortunes associated with it to an end as well. Usually refers to the final period of one's life, in the form "living on borrowed time." In the scope of the planet's history, human existence is a tiny blip and unlikely to last forever—just borrowed time, really. Accidents and disease can strike so unexpectedly that it feels like we're all living on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, time
exist on borrowed time
To live or exist in a temporary and/or tenuous position, which may come to an end suddenly and abruptly. The small aboriginal population has been existing on borrowed time since the invaders began colonizing their land. Accidents and disease can strike so unexpectedly that it feels like we're all existing on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, exist, on, time
live on borrowed time
To live or exist in a temporary and/or tenuous position, which may come to an end suddenly and abruptly. Accidents and disease can strike so unexpectedly that it feels like we're all living on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, live, on, time
on borrowed time
In a temporary and/or tenuous position, which will likely come to an end suddenly and abruptly. The company has been on borrowed time ever since those risky investments in 2007 went sour. Accidents and disease can strike so unexpectedly that it feels like we're all existing on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, on, time
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
borrow something
Euph. to steal something. The bank robber borrowed a car to drive out of state. I discovered that my office mate had been borrowing money out of my wallet when I wasn't looking.
borrow something from someone
to request and receive the use of something from someone. Can I borrow a hammer from you? Sorry, this hammer was borrowed from my father.
See also: borrow
borrow trouble
Fig. to worry needlessly; to make trouble for oneself. Worrying too much about death is just borrowing trouble. Do not get involved with politics. That's borrowing trouble.
See also: borrow, trouble
live on borrowed time
Fig. to exist only because of good fortune; to live on when death was expected. The doctors told him he was living on borrowed time. You are living on borrowed time, so make the best of it.
See also: borrow, live, on, time
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
beg, borrow, or steal
Obtain by any possible means, as in You couldn't beg, borrow, or steal tickets to the Olympics. This term is often used in the negative, to describe something that cannot be obtained; Chaucer used it in The Tale of the Man of Law. [Late 1300s]
See also: steal
borrow trouble
Go out of one's way to do something that may be harmful, as in Just sign the will-telling her about it ahead of time is borrowing trouble. [Mid-1800s] Also see ask for, def. 2.
See also: borrow, trouble
on borrowed time, live
Outlive reasonable expectations, as in Our twenty-year-old car is living on borrowed time, or The vet said our dog is living on borrowed time. This expression alludes to time borrowed from death. [Late 1800s]
See also: borrow, live, on
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
be living on borrowed time
orbe on borrowed time
COMMON If someone or something is living on borrowed time or is on borrowed time, they are not expected to survive for much longer. The organization is living on borrowed time. Its state funding runs out in June of this year, and beyond that, the future is in doubt. From this moment onwards, this government is on borrowed time.
See also: borrow, living, on, time
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
borrow trouble
take needless action that may have bad effects. North AmericanSee also: borrow, trouble
living on borrowed time
continuing to survive against expectations (used with the implication that this will not be for much longer).See also: borrow, living, on, time
borrowed plumes
a pretentious display not rightly your own.This phrase refers to the fable of the jay which dressed itself in the peacock's feathers.
See also: borrow, plume
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
ˌbeg, ˌborrow or ˈsteal
(also ˌbeg, ˌsteal or ˈborrow) obtain something any way you can: We’ll have to beg, steal or borrow enough money to pay the fines.See also: borrow, steal
be/live on borrowed ˈtime
1 (of a person who is seriously ill) live longer than the doctors expected: The doctors say he’s living on borrowed time.
2 be doing something that other people are likely to soon stop you from doing: The government is on borrowed time (= they are not likely to be in power for long).
See also: borrow, live, on, time
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
borrow trouble
To take an unnecessary action that will probably engender adverse effects.
See also: borrow, trouble
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
beg, borrow, or steal
Obtain in any possible way. This saying appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (The Tale of the Man of Law, ca. 1386): “Maugre [despite] thyn heed, thou most for indigence or stele, or begge, or borwe [borrow] thy despence [expenditure]!” In slightly different form it appears in a seventeenth-century poem with a cautionary moral that is quoted by Washington Irving (“But to beg or to borrow, or get a man’s own, ’tis the very worst world that ever was known”). Almost the same wording appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack (1742).
See also: steal
borrowed time, on
An unexpected extension of time. It often refers to someone terminally ill or in great danger but surviving longer than was anticipated, on time that is in effect borrowed from Death. The term dates from the late 1800s. Raymond Chandler used it in The Big Sleep (1930): “Brody was living on borrowed time.” James Patterson also had it, referring to the 48-hour deadline for a threatened bombing attack: “We were definitely operating on borrowed time” (London Bridges, 2004).
See also: borrow, on
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- adorn
- adorn (oneself) with borrowed plumes
- plume
- borrowed plumes
- close the door to (something)
- parade in front of
- parade in front of (someone or something)
- cut a (wide) swath, to
- (from) top to toe
- parade by