first thing


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Related to first thing: First Thing in the Morning

first thing

Very early in the day and/or as the first thing that is done. We need to talk about this shipping issue first thing tomorrow. Eating first thing in the morning just makes me nauseous.
See also: first, thing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

first thing (in the morning)

before anything else is done in the morning. Please call me first thing in the morning. I can't help you now. I'll do that first thing.
See also: first, thing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

first thing

Before anything else; without delay. For example, Tom was supposed to call him first thing in the morning. [Late 1500s] Also see under first and foremost; first off.
See also: first, thing
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.

first thing

early in the morning; before anything else.
See also: first, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

first ˈthing (tomorrow, in the morning, etc.)

at the beginning of the period of time mentioned, before doing anything else: I always like a cup of tea first thing in the morning. ♢ Can you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back first thing tomorrow. OPPOSITE: last thing (at night)
See also: first, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

first thing

Informal
Right away; before anything else: Do your assignments first thing in the morning.
See also: first, thing
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.
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References in periodicals archive ?
If you have a good plan that matches at least some portion of your money, contributing to it is the first thing you should do when saving for retirement, says Michael Buccolo, director of equity marketing at New York-based AXA Advisors.
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While we want to do education and good things, when it comes down to it, the first thing is they want to put food on the table and send their kids to college.
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First Things to Hand is a free-verse poetry chapbook by teacher and prizewinning poet Robert Pinsky, contemplating the most elementary of ordinary items yet revealing the distinctions each object sheds upon the multifaceted human experience.
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In the year of Clinton's re-election, a federal district court ruling to permit physician-assisted suicide shook the editors of the Catholic journal First Things so violently that they began to ask whether judicial tyranny had destroyed democracy itself.
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From 2001 to 2005, Linker worked side by side with Neuhaus as an editor at the latter's monthly journal, First Things, and presumably shared his boss's enthusiasm for mixing prophetic religion and radical politics.
Unto the Father: Fr. Richard Neuhaus may have midwifed the religious right--but that doesn't mean Karl Rove always returns his phone calls
He explains that it's not that they're disinterested in working on the amenities, but it is a matter of first things first: "Our priority has clearly been to stop the silly, annoying, frustrating, and loyalty-sapping problems that our customers have endured." Hallmark adds: "We'd loved to be loved in every dimension, but we have to be loved for our technical competence, because we're a technical company."
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Researchers tracked Career Academies; First Things First; and Talent Development, breaking down the effectiveness of the initiatives into five areas that challenge high schools.
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Supreme Court, McConnell wrote in the conservative religious journal First Things, "hangs by a thread." Assuming that the next president would have an opportunity to appoint justices to the high court, McConnell wrote, "To an extent rarely seen in the history of the nation, the content and meaning of the Constitution appear to be up for a vote in the next presidential election."
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Janet McHard, CPA, supervising senior accountant, cites "put first things first" (habit three) as most meaningful to her for help in balancing day-to-day work, career and family.
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One of the first things we did was set out to transform the company's culture.
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In November 1996, a symposium appearing in the neo-conservative religious journal First Things incited a controversy.
A Critique of Dying
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