be with it

be with it

slang

1. To be alert and responsive. I'm sorry, I'm just not with it until I've had my coffee in the morning. You've got to be with it, people! We have a deadline here! A: "I didn't mean to hit you in the head—you were supposed to catch the ball!" B: "I just woke up, I'm not with it yet!"

2. To be hip, fashionable, or in line with current trends. Her latest fashion line just isn't with it—it's not what today's teens want to wear. If people think you're with it, they'll want to dress and act just like you. A: "No, that look is very in right now." B: "Really? So you're telling me that weird dude is actually with it?"

with it

1. slang Alert and responsive. I'm sorry, I'm just not with it before I've had my coffee. Get with it, people! We have a deadline here!

2. slang Current, fashionable, or in line with current trends. Her latest fashion line just isn't with it—it's not what today's teens want to wear.

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

with it

 

1. Inf. alert and knowledgeable. Jane isn't making any sense. She's not really with it tonight. Jean's mother is not really with it anymore. She's going senile. Peter's not with it yet. He's only just come round from the anesthetic.

2. Inf. up-to-date. My parents are so old-fashioned. I'm sure they were never with it. Why do you wear those baggy old clothes? Why aren't you with it?

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

with it, be

Also, get with it. Be or become knowledgeable about the current or latest trends, fashions, or ideas, as in She just turned 60, but she's still very much with it, or Get with it, Dad, that kind of razor hasn't been made for years. [Slang; 1920s]

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.

ˈwith it

(informal)
1 (old-fashioned) (of somebody/something) fashionable and up to date: Her clothes are very with it, aren’t they? ♢ He was wearing very with-it sunglasses.
2 thinking quickly and clearly: I’m a bit tired this morning. I’m not really with it.

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

with it

mod. up-to-date; contemporary. Come on, chum. Get with it.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

with it

Informal

1. Interested in and sensitive to the latest styles and trends; up-to-date.

2. Streetwise and knowing; savvy.

3. Mentally competent.

with it

Slang

1. Aware of or knowledgeable about the latest trends or developments.

2. Mentally responsive and perceptive: I'm just not with it today.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

with it, to be/to get

To be (become) up-to-date, conversant with the latest style. This American slang expression originated during the 1920s, when it became associated with sex appeal (thanks to Elinor Glyn, author of a stream of popular fiction, and the movie star Clara Bow, the “It Girl”). Richard Condon used the cliché in The Manchurian Candidate (1959): “They are with it, Raymond. Believe me.”

See also: get, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer