en masse
As one unit or group. At the end of the assembly, the students moved en masse toward the gym doors. I knew the business was doomed when employees started quitting en masse. People have gathered en masse to protest the proposed law.
en route
Currently traveling to someone or something. We're en route to the party and should be there in five minutes. It looks like the package is en route and should arrive today. I'm sorry, I overslept and got a late start, but I'm en route now.
hark(en) back to (something)
1. To cause one to think of or recall something. (The spelling "harken" is actually a variant of the archaic word "hearken," which originally meant "to listen" but is more commonly used in place of "hark" in this idiomatic phrase.) That song harkens back to an earlier time in my life. The diner is clearly trying to harken back to the aesthetics of the early 1950s. What is this? I'm looking for a modern logo, not one that totally harks back to the '70s.
2. To have originated or begun as something. You know, our modern cell phones hark back to those old rotary phones you like to make fun of. Don't scoff at our pixelated Oregon Trail—what do think your modern computer games hark back to? Fashion is cyclical. The clothes teens were wearing in the '90s harkened back to clothes teens were wearing in the '70s.
3. To revisit or recall something mentioned earlier. Before we get too upset, let's all harken back to the real reason we're here today. Can we please not hark back to last Thanksgiving and the fight between Mom and Aunt Mary? Wait, doesn't that later scene in the bakery hearken back to their meet-cute in the bakery?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
en masse
In one group or body; all together. For example, The activists marched en masse to the capitol. This French term, with exactly the same meaning, was adopted into English about 1800.
en route
On or along the way, as in We'll pick up Dan en route to the restaurant, or We can finish our discussion en route. This French term was adopted into English in the late 1700s.
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.