What does it mean to trip a little light fantastic?
To “trip the light fantastic” is to dance nimbly or lightly to music.
What does tripping the light fantastic mean in the song The Sidewalks of New York?
To “Trip the Light Fantastic” is to dance. A lot of dancing got done. But during those late 19th century years when music began a commercial hey-day, particularly in New York, “tripping the light fantastic” came of age in a classic Tin Pan song called “The Sidewalks of New York.”
Who coined the phrase tripping the light fantastic?
John Milton
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.
What means trip off?
1 an outward and return journey, often for a specific purpose. 2 any tour, journey, or voyage. 3 a false step; stumble. 4 any slip or blunder.
What are Lamplighters called in Mary Poppins?
leerie
In spite of his duty as a lamplighter (referred to as a “leerie”) throughout the film, he shows a good personality to Mary Poppins and also joins alongside Michael Banks’ three children, John, Annabel, and Georgie.
Where did the term tripping come from?
The term dates back to the 1920s. When people are tripping on hallucinogenic drugs, they can act very erratic, which probably accounts for the use of trppin’ for “acting insane, foolish, or without thinking” in general slang by the late 1980s.
What is a trip slang?
The noun form of trip is a hallucinatory experience brought about by drugs. To trip, in slang verb form, describes the actual taking of drugs. Trip and its new definition can be compared to several other slang terms. An example of these are the terms “whacked” or “messed up”, which have similar meanings to trippy.
How much did a lamplighter get paid?
When all the lamps were lit, the lamplighter was done for the night, until daybreak approached, when he walked the streets once again, to extinguish the flames. Lamplighting wasn’t known to be a particularly grueling job, but most lamplighters were assigned routes of 70 to 80 lamps each. They were paid about $2 a day.
What does it mean to trip the Light Fantastic?
Trip the light fantastic. 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. As early as 1908 it was viewed as a cliché or hackneyed phrase.
What is the origin of the phrase ‘trip the light fandango’?
In 1973, Stephen Sondheim employed two plays on the phrase (“trip the light fandango” and “pitch the quick fantastic”) in the song “The Miller’s Son,” from his musical A Little Night Music. In 1985, rock band Marillion released its song ” Heart of Lothian ” which included the line “and the trippers of the light fantastic, bow down, hoe-down.”
Where does the phrase “Light Fantastic toe” come from?
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 Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price
