strange
(redirected from strangest)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia.
strange bird
A rather unusual, strange, eccentric, or peculiar person. His new girlfriend is nice enough, but she's a bit of a strange bird, don't you think?
strange duck
A rather unusual, strange, eccentric, or peculiar person. His new girlfriend is nice enough, but she's a bit of a strange duck, don't you think?
like a cat in a strange garret
Very wary or timid. Of course he's acting like a cat in a strange garret—he's never been to the big city before!
How (something) is that?
That is very (something). Adjectives commonly used in this construction include "strange," "cool," and "awesome," among others. Did you know that hummingbirds can fly backwards? How cool is that? A: "Frank spent prom night home alone playing video games. How sad is that?" B: "Actually, that sounds pretty great."
See also: how
strangely enough
Bafflingly; surprisingly; atypically. Strangely enough, it turned out that we both knew John, but had met him in two different parts of the world. He seems, strangely enough, happy that the police caught him. Their newest device is strangely enough a slight step back when it comes to performance and design.
be strange bedfellows
Of a pair of people, things, or groups, to be connected in a certain situation or activity but to be extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. A notorious playboy musician and an ultra-conservative media pundit may be strange bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would be strange bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but their books actually have a lot of parallels in terms of themes and constructs.
make strange bedfellows
Of a pair of people, things, or groups, to be connected in a certain situation or activity but to be extremely different in overall characteristics, opinions, ideologies, lifestyles, behaviors, etc. A notorious playboy musician and an ultra-conservative media pundit may make strange bedfellows, but the two are coming together all this month to bring a spotlight to suicide awareness. I thought that the two writers would make strange bedfellows, given the drastically different nature of their writing, but their books actually have a lot of parallels in terms of themes and constructs.
feel strange
To feel uneasy or unwell. If you're feeling strange, why don't you sit down?
keep (some kind of) hours
1. Used to describe one's pattern or schedule of being awake and asleep. Because of the huge time difference, Sam has kept really strange hours since coming back from Japan. It's important the kids start keeping regular hours when they are young, as having unpredictable bedtimes and lengths of sleep can seriously impact on their development.
2. Used to describe one's business hours. The local doctor has always kept rather irregular hours. Sometimes it just comes down to luck whether he'll be there at all on any given day.
make strange (with one)
To become shy or upset in the presence of someone else. Typically said of babies or young children. I can't believe he's not crying while you hold him—he usually makes strange with everyone! Don't make strange, go say hi to your Aunt Josephine!
Politics makes strange bedfellows.
Prov. People who would normally dislike and avoid one another will work together if they think it is politically useful to do so. Jill: I never would have thought that genteel, aristocratic candidate would pick such a rabble-rousing, rough-mannered running mate. Jane: Politics makes strange bedfellows.
strange bedfellows
A peculiar alliance or combination, as in George and Arthur really are strange bedfellows, sharing the same job but totally different in their views . Although strictly speaking bedfellows are persons who share a bed, like husband and wife, the term has been used figuratively since the late 1400s. This particular idiom may have been invented by Shakespeare in The Tempest (2:2), "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." Today a common extension is politics makes strange bedfellows, meaning that politicians form peculiar associations so as to win more votes. A similar term is odd couple, a pair who share either housing or a business but are very different in most ways. This term gained currency with Neil Simon's Broadway play The Odd Couple and, even more, with the motion picture (1968) and subsequent television series based on it, contrasting housemates Felix and Oscar, one meticulously neat and obsessively punctual, the other extremely messy and casual.
strange to say
Also, strangely enough. Surprisingly, curiously, unaccountably, as in Strange to say, all the boys in his class are six feet tall or taller, or I've never been to the circus, strangely enough. This idiom was first recorded in 1697 as strange to relate.
make strange
(of a baby or child) fuss or be shy in company. Canadian 1987 Alice Munro The Progress of Love Her timid-looking fat son…usually liked Violet, but today he made strange.
feel ˈstrange
not feel comfortable in a situation; have an unpleasant physical feeling: She felt strange sitting at her father’s desk. ♢ It was terribly hot and I started to feel strange.be/make strange ˈbedfellows
be two very different people or things that you would not expect to find together: Art and rugby may seem strange bedfellows, but the local rugby club donated £5 000 to help fund an art exhibition.A bedfellow is a person who shares a bed with somebody else.
odd bird
and strange bird n. a strange or eccentric person. Mr. Wilson certainly is an odd bird. You’re a strange bird, but you’re fun.
strange bird
verbSee odd bird