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On the light fantastick toe, In Milton's use the word "trip" means to "dance nimbly" and "fantastic" suggests "extremely fancy". "Light fantastic" refers to the word toe, and "toe" refers to a dancer's "footwork". "Toe" has since disappeared from the idiom, which then becomes: "trip the light fantastic". [6]
To dance, especially in an imaginative or ‘fantastic’ manner. What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Trip the light fantastic’? This apparently obscure expression originates from the works of John Milton. In the masque Comus, 1637, he used the lines: Come, knit hands, and beat the ground, In a light fantastic round.
Aug 10, 2022 · One thing is certain: Trip the light fantastic has tripped its way from early modern England to the present day as blithely and fantastically as a nimble dancer. While it has always...
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Come, and trip it, as you go, On the light fantastic toe; The light fantastic modifies toe, which symbolises feet, and means to dance in an agile, effortless and fantastic manner. A similar expression, which should help to understand further, is to be light on one's feet. Share.
- I lighted upon the following excerpt, and thought it explained the meaning of this charming and idiosyncratic phrase quite well. From Etiquette, p...
- The common reference (as mentioned for instance in wordreference is from a verse in Milton’s L’Allegro (a pastoral poem by John Milton publ...
- The word [ trip ] had long been used to mean 'dance nimbly'. Chaucer used it that way as early as 1386, in The Miller's Tale : In twenty manere ko...
2 days ago · To trip the light fantastic: to dance with grace and style. How about two other dance expressions: he’s footloose and fancy-free. Footloose isn’t necessarily tied to dancing — it means ...
Trip the light fantastic - 7 Phrases from the World of Dance | Merriam-Webster. Wordplay Arts & Culture. 7 Phrases from the World of Dance. Words from the sprightly world of dance. It takes two to tango. Many dances are styled for two partners, so why does the tango get singled out in this phrase?
Trip the light fantastic is an imaginative idiomatic phrase that refers to lively movement. It evokes a vivid image of graceful and joyful movement, often associated with dancing. Its origins can be traced back to the poem “L’Allegro” by John Milton, written in 1631.
