a good name is sooner lost than won

proverb It is much easier to lose a good reputation than to earn it. One misstep in the public eye could end up severely damaging your business. A good name is sooner lost than won, man. Hey, the staff can't find out that I'm the one who proposed the layoffs. I'm no fool, I know that a good name is sooner lost than won! Edgar is a shining example of the axiom "a good name is sooner lost than won"—he came from a very noble family, but his lascivious lifestyle ended up sullying his name.

better said than done

obsolete It is easy to say that one can or will do something, but is much more difficult to actually do it. Replaced in modern English by the phrase "easier said than done." You vowed to double the amount of last year's donations? Better said than done. I know you're confident in your idea, but starting a company from the ground up is better said than done. A: "Why don't you just hire someone to help cope with the additional work?" B: "That would be nice, but it's better said than done."

easier said than done

It is easy to say that one can or will do something, but is much more difficult to actually do it. You vowed to double the amount of last year's donations? Easier said than done. I know you're confident in your idea, but starting a company from the ground up is easier said than done. You vowed to double the amount of last year's donations? Well, that's easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

had sooner (do something)

Would prefer to do something; would be more inclined or willing to do something. A less common variant of "would sooner (do something)." I had sooner not talk to you right now. With all due respect, we'd sooner focus on the issue at hand than start discussing other issues. I'd sooner walk on hot coals than talk to that jerk ever again!

See also: sooner

no sooner (do something) than (do something else)

One action had just concluded when something else happened or began. No sooner had I wrapped up the meeting than everyone bolted from their seats. She had no sooner taken the meal out of the oven than someone started knocking at the door.

no sooner said than done

Right away; immediately. A: "Jan, I need you to reorganize the store room." B: "No sooner said than done, boss."

See also: done, no, said, sooner

not if I see you first

I'll try to avoid talking to you if I spot you first the next time we cross paths. A (usually) humorous reply to a farewell of "see you later," "see you soon," etc. A: "It was great catching up, but I'd better get going. See you again soon!" B: "Not if I see you first! Ha-ha, just joking." "OK, see you tomorrow!" she called out in her shrill, whining voice. "Not if I see you first," I muttered to myself.

not if I see you sooner

I'll try to avoid talking to you if I spot you first the next time we cross paths. A (usually) humorous reply to a farewell of "see you later" or "see you soon." A: "It was great catching up, but I'd better get going. See you again soon!" B: "Not if I see you sooner! Ha-ha, just joking." "OK, see you tomorrow!" she called out in her shrill, whining voice. "Not if I see you sooner," I muttered to myself.

sooner or later

Eventually at some point in the future, whether soon or at a later point in time. They're going to find out sooner or later, so you might as well tell them now. Sooner or later we'll need to start investing in the city's outdated infrastructure.

See also: later, sooner

sooner rather than later

As soon or quickly as possible; closer to now than a later time or date. I'd rather we have the meeting sooner rather than later so we can finalize the project details. Can we fill out that application tonight? I'd like to get it done sooner rather than later.

sooner said than done

obsolete It is easy to say that one can or will do something, but is much more difficult to actually do it. Replaced in modern English by the phrase "easier said than done." You vowed to double the amount of last year's donations? Sooner said than done. I know you're confident in your idea, but starting a company from the ground up is sooner said than done.

sooner than you think

Sooner or earlier than is expected; sooner rather than later. The actor said the next film in the popular franchise would be coming sooner than you think. A: "I heard there's going to be a round of layoffs coming in the future." B: "From what I've heard, it'll be sooner than you think."

sooner you than me

I'm glad that I don't have to experience what you just mentioned having to do or go through. A: "My boss is making me come in this weekend to do an inventory of the entire store. It's going to take forever!" B: "Wow, sooner you than me. I'm going to a baseball game this weekend!"

See also: sooner

the sooner the better

As soon as possible; right away. Please have compile a report of all our financials from the last two quarters, the sooner the better.

would sooner

Would rather. Often used to show one's disgust or displeasure with a potential event, outcome, or course of action. I would sooner join the nunnery than go on another date with John! His arrogance was positively repulsive! Susie just has no interest in softball this year. I think she would sooner spend her afternoons at the library than on the field.

See also: sooner

easier said than done

Cliché said of a task that is easier to talk about than to do. Yes, we must find a cure for cancer, but it's easier said than done. Finding a good job is easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

had rather do something

and had sooner do something

prefer to do something. (The had is usually expressed as the contraction, 'd.) I'd rather go to town than sit here all evening. They'd rather not.

no sooner said than done

an expression indicating that something has been done quickly and obediently. Jill: Can I help you out? Jane: Yes! Put these files in alphabetical order. Jill: No sooner said than done. The service at the hotel was really remarkable. Everything we asked for was no sooner said than done.

See also: done, no, said, sooner

Not if I see you sooner, and Not if I see you first.

Inf. a response to I'll see you later. (This means you will not see me if I see you first, because I will avoid you.) Tom: See you later. Mary: Not if I see you sooner. John: Okay. If you want to argue, I'll just leave. See you later. Mary: Not if I see you first.

sooner or later

eventually; in the short term or in the long term. He'll have to pay the bill sooner or later. she'll get what she deserves sooner or later.

See also: later, sooner

sooner than you think

an expression stating that something will happen sooner than a time expected or just mentioned. Sally: I'm going to have to stop pretty soon for a rest. Mary: Sooner than you think, I'd say. I think one of our tires is low. Tom: The stock market is bound to run out of steam pretty soon. Bob: Sooner than you think from the look of today's news.

sooner the better

The sooner something [referred to] gets done, the better things will be. Bob: When do you need this? Mary: The sooner the better. Bob: Please get the oil changed in the station wagon. The sooner the better. Alice: I'll do it today.

easier said than done

Also, more easily said than done. Describing something more readily talked about than accomplished, as in Keeping the cats off the sofa is easier said than done. This expression also was put as sooner or better said than done . Today, the variant ( more easily) is still heard less often than the original. [c. 1450]

See also: done, easy, said

had rather

Also, had sooner. Would prefer. For example, I had rather you let me do the driving, or He'd sooner switch than fight. This idiom today is often replaced by would rather. [Late 1500s] Also see just as soon.

no sooner said than done

Accomplished immediately, as in He said we should leave and, no sooner said than done. This expression employs no sooner ... than in the sense of "at once," a usage dating from the mid-1500s.

See also: done, no, said, sooner

sooner or later

Eventually, at some unspecified future time, as in Sooner or later we'll have to answer that letter, or It's bound to stop raining sooner or later. This term, which generally implies that some future event is certain to happen, was first recorded in 1577.

See also: later, sooner

sooner the better, the

As quickly or early as possible, as in As for stopping that check, the sooner the better. This idiom was first recorded in 1477.

See also: sooner

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.

easier said than done

COMMON If you say that something is easier said than done, you mean that although it sounds like a good idea, you think it would be difficult to actually do it. `If you're not happy with yourself, then change.' Easier said than done, Alex thought. The alternative option is to scrap the unwanted machines, and use the metal for some other purpose. But this, too, is easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

easier said than done

more easily talked about than put into practice.

See also: done, easy, said

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

ˌeasier ˌsaid than ˈdone

(saying) it is easier to suggest doing something than actually to do it: ‘All you have to do is climb a ladder and mend the roof.’ ‘Easier said than done — I’m terrified of heights!’

See also: done, easy, said

no ˌsooner ˌsaid than ˈdone

(of a request) done immediately: When he said he wanted to go to the zoo on his birthday it was no sooner said than done.

See also: done, no, said, sooner

no sooner...than...

(written) used to show that one thing, which is unexpected, happens immediately after another thing: No sooner had she got in the bath than the front door bell rang.

the ˌsooner the ˈbetter

very soon; as soon as possible: ‘When shall I tell him?’ ‘The sooner the better.’

ˌsooner or ˈlater

at some time in the future, even if you are not sure exactly when: The police will find him sooner or later.

See also: later, sooner

ˌsooner rather than ˈlater

after a short time rather than after a long time: We urged them to sort out the problem sooner rather than later.

I, etc. would sooner do something (than something else)

I, etc. would prefer to do something (than do something else): She’d sooner share a house with other students than live at home with her parents.

no sooner ... than

As soon as: No sooner was the frost off the ground than the work began.

sooner or later

At some time; eventually: Sooner or later you will have to face the facts.

See also: later, sooner

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.

easier said than done

Describing something that is more readily talked about than accomplished. This expression dates back as far as the fifteenth century, when it appeared in several sources, including the Vulgate (Latin) Bible. It was sometimes put as sooner or better said than done; the latter appears in John Heywood’s 1546 collection of English proverbs.

See also: done, easy, said

no sooner said than done

Carried out immediately. This hyperbolic statement dates from Roman times, when it was put Dictum factumque facit frux (by Ennius in Annals, ca. 180 b.c.). Erasmus in Adagia (1508) had Simul et dictum et factum, “At the same time said and done,” and the precise English wording appeared about one and a half centuries later, in Head and Kirkman’s The English Rogue (1671).

See also: done, no, said, sooner

sooner or later

At some future time or other; eventually. This expression dates from the sixteenth century and has long been a cliché. Joseph Addison used it in The Spectator in 1712: “The dying Man is one whom, sooner or later, we shall certainly resemble.”

See also: later, sooner

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