Often used when talking about sexual meanings or situations. No, I don't think it's an idiom: the meaning varies with the context. at (one's) door. 1. Learn more. if someone is at the door, they are waiting for you to open the door of a building so they can come inside There’s somebody at the front door. n. 1. leave the door open for (something or doing something), lock the barn door after the horse has bolted, lock the barn/stable door after the horse has bolted/is stolen, to, lock the stable door after the horse has bolted, lock the stable door after the horse is stolen, shut the stable door after the horse has bolted, shut/lock/close the stable door after the horse has bolted, when one door closes, another (one/door) opens, when one door shuts, another (one/door) opens, when poverty comes in (at) the door, love flies out (of) the window, When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window, when the wolf comes in (at) the door, love creeps out (of) the window, you make a better door than you do a window, the webmaster's page for free fun content, doom (someone or something) to (something), Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association, Door and Shutter Manufacturers' Association. The term dead as a doornail was used in the 1500s by William Shakespeare, and in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 1843. Idiom definition is - an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for 'undecided') or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way). • The jury was told that Mr Johnson was on the door when the four arrived at his party at about three am. But one of the important meanings is: to get in a critical/advantageous position, to get in the starting position for a process. to work at the entrance to a theatre, club etc, collecting tickets → door Examples from the Corpus be on the door • One of his hands was on the door, the other extended to her. Slang One who submits meekly to domination or mistreatment by others. : Definition and synonyms of on the door from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education. door-to-door definition: 1. going from one house or building in an area to another: 2. going from one house or building in…. → door Examples from the Corpus at the door • Cover is $ 4 at the door. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. APT BO. be on the door. We should be able to get in free because I know the guy on the door. to take indirect or unofficial route to get something done; to be dishonest in order to do something which is either of meaning or value; could literally refer to a back door of a building; Example Sentences. Example: He’s not really good enough to be an F1 driver but he got in the team because he brought a major sponsorship deal with him. Learn more. Every guy may have his specific girl-next-door prototype, but in general, she's the girl whom you always admired from afar and were afraid to approach, fearing that any erotic projection toward her would ruin her image as a decent, pure and almost virginal womanly ideal. Meaning. Don’t let the door hit you is a shortened rendering of an idiom with several variations. ARRIVE. (informal) He walked out the door. as one door closes, another (one) opens. phrase. We will examine the meaning of the expression get one’s foot in the door, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences. : : phrase: : "it's early doors yet": : by which iy is meant "there is plenty of time at present": : thanks for any advice: : regards to all: "Ron Atkinson is the inventor of the phrase "early doors" a juxtposition of two previously unrelated words, which has been unquestioningly accepted into the English language. … See also: door, on. See more. Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you! Definition: With everything included (said of a price) For example: “That car will cost you $8,600 out the door.”. the back door. RELATED IDIOMS : as one door closes another opens you shouldn't be discouraged by failure as other opportunities will soon present themselves – proverb at deaths door = at death's door so ill that you may die 1994 - S. P. - Somtow Jasmine Nights - How stupid of me to trouble her with my petty problems when she's probably at death's door! a toe in the door. See more. After being cooped up in my cubicle all week, it feels great to spend some time in the out-of-doors. and pointing out a small sofa for him to sit and wait for her, she went silently toward the, My eyes were fixed on the bronze handle of the fencing-room, While he was hesitating, the station-master passed the, No one could say just where they appeared upon the open lawn on their way to the front, It was close on twelve o'clock when Anne heard the servant's voice, outside her bedroom, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, close the barn door after the horse has bolted, close the stable door after the horse has bolted, closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, don't let the door hit you on the way out. What would you do if the chance to make half a million dollars was … Although the expression seems to have originated in America and it is rarely heard outside the US, the only credible claims to its origin are Scottish. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. be on the door to work at the entrance of a building, collecting tickets or preventing particular people from entering used to refer to a house or other building: Sam only lives a few doors (away/up/down) from us. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/door, Lady Arabella took in her hand a small key which hung at the end of her watch-chain, and moved to a small, Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore; Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber, But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and, While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the, "I am certain there is somebody knocking at the, Mrs Brooks, thinking that the speaker was coming to rush out of the, "Trust in His mercy!" 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