good Samaritan
A person who selflessly helps others, especially those in distress. Taken from a parable in the Bible in which a Samaritan man was the only person who stopped to help a man who was robbed and beaten. Brad was hailed by the newspaper as a good Samaritan after he stepped in and helped a woman who was being robbed. I might have died out on that trail, if not for a good Samaritan who found me and carried me to safety. It's an outrage! All those people in that train station and not one good Samaritan to help my mother after she'd been knocked down!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
good Samaritan
A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others, as in In this neighborhood you can't count on a good Samaritan if you get in trouble. This expression alludes to Jesus's parable about a Samaritan who rescues and cares for a stranger who had been robbed and badly hurt and had been ignored by a priest and a Levite (Luke 10:30-35). The Samaritans were considered a heretical group by other Jews, so by using a Samaritan for the parable, Jesus chose a person whom his listeners would find least likely to be worthy of concern. [c. 1600]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
good Samaritan
a charitable or helpful person. In the Bible, Jesus tells the parable of a man who ‘went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves’ (Luke 10). The first two people who came across him lying stripped and wounded by the side of the road ‘passed by on the other side’. It was the third man, a Samaritan (i.e. a man from Samaria) who took pity on him and helped him.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
a ˌgood Saˈmaritan
a person who gives help and sympathy to people who need it: He stole money from an old woman while pretending to be a good Samaritan and help carry her shopping.This comes from a story told by Jesus in the Bible.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
good Samaritan
A selfless helper of anyone in distress. The term comes from the biblical story (Luke 10:30–35) told by Jesus. He compared the treatment accorded to a man, robbed and left half dead, by a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The first two passed him by, but the Samaritan took him to an inn and cared for him. Although the term “good Samaritan” does not appear in any of the translations of this parable, it somehow evolved over the years.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer