forgotten

all but

1. Everything or everyone, with the exclusion of. All but the freshmen were invited to the party. We sold all but the curtains in that estate sale. I know I made an announcement about it yesterday if all but you two showed up in the right uniform today.

2. Nearly. Public pay phones have all but disappeared in most major cities. The remnants of this ancient civilization have all but vanished. My interest in this project is all but gone after working on it for four years.

See also: all, but

eaten bread is soon forgotten

proverb One quickly forgets the charitable or helpful actions they receive from others. Primarily heard in Ireland. I help you start your car, and you won't even drop me off at the store? I see, eaten bread is soon forgotten. It doesn't matter what he did in the beginning of his term. Eaten bread is soon forgotten, and people want to know what he'll do for them going forward. Eaten bread is soon forgotten, so if you want to stay in office, you need to continually do things that improve your constituents' lives.

See also: bread, eaten, forgotten, soon

forget (one's) manners

To act in a rude, impolite, or otherwise inappropriate way. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to reach across the table like that—I must have forgotten my manners for a minute there. How could you say something like that to me? Have you forgotten your manners? I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners—let me introduce the two of you.

See also: forget, manner

gone but not forgotten

Some who is frequently remembered in spite of their physical absence (which, in many cases, is due to their death). My mother is gone but not forgotten—I think of her when I wake up every morning. My sister is living on the West Coast now, but people ask me about her all the time—she's gone but not forgotten. Try to remember that Aunt Nancy is gone but not forgotten—that she lives on in all of our memories.

See also: but, forgotten, gone, not

long absent, soon forgotten

The longer a person is not present, the easier they are to forget about. A: "Is Carrie really dating someone else now?" B: "You've been gone for months! Long absent, soon forgotten."

See also: forgotten, long, soon

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

gone but not forgotten

Cliché gone or dead and still remembered. The good days we used to have together are gone, but not forgotten. Uncle Harry is gone but not forgotten. The stain where he spilled the wine is still visible in the parlor carpet.

See also: but, forgotten, gone, not

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

all but

Almost, nearly, as in I've all but finished the book. This expression was used by Andrew Marvell in "Thoughts in a Garden": " Society is all but rude, To this delicious solitude." [Late 1500s]

See also: all, but

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.

ˈall but

1 almost: The snow all but covered the path, making it difficult to walk. ♢ The patient was all but dead when the doctor arrived.
2 all (the people or things mentioned) except...: ‘Have you done your homework?’ ‘Yes, all but the last two questions.’

See also: all, but

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

all but

Nearly; almost: all but crying with relief.

See also: all, but

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.