darken
(redirected from darkening)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to darkening: Limb darkening
darken (one's) door
To come to one's home as an unwelcome visitor. I made sure he'll never dark our door again.
darken a church door
To attend church or a service therein. I was raised Catholic, but I haven't darkened a church door since I was 15 years old.
never darken (one's) door again
To never return to one's home. Used when referring to an unwelcome visitor. Don't worry, I've made sure that he'll never darken our door again.
never darken (one's) doorstep again
To never return to one's home. Used when referring to an unwelcome visitor. Don't worry, I've made sure that he'll never darken our doorstep again.
never darken (one's) doorway again
To never return to one's home. Used when referring to an unwelcome visitor. Don't worry, I've made sure that he'll never darken our doorway again.
not darken (one's) door again
To never return to one's home. Used when referring to an unwelcome visitor. Don't worry, I've made sure that he won't darken our door again.
not darken the door of (some place)
To not go or never return to some place. I heard the Justice Department is dropping the case, so it looks like he won't darken the door of the courthouse anytime soon. I haven't darkened the door of a church since I was 10 years old.
not darken the doorstep of (some place)
To not go or never return to some place. I heard the Justice Department is dropping the case, so it looks like he won't darken the doorstep of the courthouse anytime soon. I haven't darkened the doorstep of a church since I was 10 years old.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
darken someone's door
Fig. [for an unwelcome person] to come to someone's door seeking entry. (As if the visitor were casting a shadow on the door. Formal, or even jocular.) Who is this who has come to darken my door? She pointed to the street and said, "Go and never darken my door again!"
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
darken someone's door
Come unwanted to someone's home, as in I told him to get out and never darken my door again. The verb darken here refers to casting one's shadow across the threshold, a word that occasionally was substituted for door. As an imperative, the expression is associated with Victorian melodrama, where someone (usually a young woman or man) is thrown out of the parental home for some misdeed, but it is actually much older. Benjamin Franklin used it in The Busybody (1729): "I am afraid she would resent it so as never to darken my doors again."
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.
never darken someone's door
ornever darken someone's doorstep
OLD-FASHIONEDIf someone tells you never to darken their door again or never to darken their doorstep again, they are ordering you never to visit them again. The law firm told them to destroy all dossiers and never darken their doorstep again.
not darken somewhere's door
ornot darken somewhere's doorstep
OLD-FASHIONEDIf someone never goes to a place, you can say that they do not darken its door or do not darken its doorstep. He had not darkened the door of a church for a long time. Plenty more cases never darken the doorstep of a courthouse. Note: The image here is of someone's dark shadow falling across the door.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
never darken someone's door (or doorstep)
keep away from someone's home permanently. 1988 Salman Rushdie The Satanic Verses They couldn't lock her away in any old folks' home, sent her whole family packing when they dared to suggest it, never darken her doorstep, she told them, cut the whole lot off without a penny or a by your leave.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
not/never darken somebody’s ˌdoor aˈgain
(old-fashioned or humorous) not/never come to somebody’s home again because you are not welcome: Go! And never darken my door again!Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
darken my door (again), don't/never
Go away and don’t come back. This expression, today indelibly affixed to Victorian melodrama in which a young woman is thrown out of the parental home for marrying, not marrying, or some other sinful deed, actually dates back much further. The darkening involved is that of one’s shadow across the threshold, a word occasionally substituted for “door.” Jonathan Swift used the term in Polite Conversation in 1738: “I never darkened his door in my life.” It has been a cliché since the nineteenth century, but may be dying out.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer