trip (redirected from Tripping the Light Fantastic)

*on a power trip

exercising power and authority, especially unduly. (*Typically: be ~; be off ~; go ~; have ~.) Old Molly is off on a power trip again. She loves ordering everyone about.

See also: power

Have a good trip, and Have a nice trip.

Have a pleasant journey. (Compare this with Have a safe trip. This phrase avoids references to safety.) As Sue stepped onto the plane, someone in a uniform said, "Have a nice trip." "Have a good trip," said Bill, waving his good-byes.

See also: good, have

Have a safe trip. and Have a safe journey.

I hope that your journey is safe.; Be careful and assure that your journey is safe. (Said as someone is about to leave for a trip.) Bill: Well, we're off for London. Sally: Have a safe trip. Bill: You're driving all the way to San Francisco? Bob: Yes, indeed. Bill: Well, have a safe trip.

See also: have, safe

lay a (heavy) trip on someone 

1. Inf. to criticize someone. There's no need to lay a trip on me. I agree with you. When he finally does get there, I'm going to lay a heavy trip on him like he'll never forget.

2. Inf. to confuse or astonish someone. After he laid a heavy trip on me about how the company is almost broke, I cleaned out my desk and left. After Mary laid a trip on John about leaving him, all he could do was cry.

3. and lay a guilt trip on someone Inf. to attempt to make someone feel very guilty. Why do you have to lay a guilt trip on me? Why don't you go to a shrink? Of course, she just had to lay a trip on him about being bossy, self-centered, and aloof.

4. Inf. to reveal serious or devastating information to someone. That's a powerful story. I didn't know you were going to lay a heavy trip like that on me. Man, you really laid a trip on me.

See also: lay

round-trip ticket

a ticket (for a plane, train, bus, etc.) that allows one to go to a destination and return. A round-trip ticket is usually cheaper than two one-way tickets. How much is a round-trip ticket to San Francisco?

See also: ticket

trip someone up 

1. Lit. to cause someone to trip; to entangle someone's feet. (Someone includes oneself.) The rope strewn about the deck tripped him up. The lines tripped up the crew.

2. Fig. to cause someone to falter while speaking, thinking, etc. Mary came in while the speaker was talking and the distraction tripped him up. The noise in the audience tripped up the speaker.

See also: up

trip along

to move along happily. The kids tripped along on their way to school. We were just tripping along, not having any notion of what was about to happen.

See also: along

trip on someone or something and trip over someone or something

to stumble on someone or something. The place was filled with sleeping people. I tripped over perfect strangers on my way to the door. I tripped on a brick and fell into the wall.

trip the light fantastic

Jocular to dance. Shall we go trip the light fantastic?

See also: light

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a guilt trip  (informal)

a strong feeling of guilt I'm on a guilt trip about not visiting my parents often enough.

See also: guilt

an ego trip

something that you do in order to make yourself feel important Running the university Film Society is a big ego trip for her.

See also: ego

roll/trip off the tongue

if a word or phrase trips off the tongue, it is very easy to say The band is called 'Acquired Echoes'. It doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, does it?

See also: roll, tongue

send somebody on a guilt trip  (British informal) also lay/put a guilt trip on somebody (American informal)

to make someone feel very guilty I'm tired of environmentalists who put a guilt trip on the rest of us for causing pollution with our life styles. She's sent me on a guilt trip about my treatment of Steven.

See also: guilt, send

take a stroll/trip down memory lane

to remember some of the happy things that you did in the past We were just taking a stroll down memory lane and recalling the days of our youth.

See commit to memory, jog memory, have a memory like a sieve

See also: lane, memory, stroll, take

trip the light fantastic  (humorous)

to dance There I was, tripping the light fantastic in a sequinned ballgown.

See take a stroll down memory lane, roll off the tongue

See also: light

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trip somebody up also trip up somebody

to cause someone to make a mistake The lawyer used what he knew about her personality to trip her up in court. I did fine on most of the test, but I tripped up on the last problem.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of trip someone up (to cause someone to fall)

See also: up