IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishgo off on a tangent
Meaning: To wander away from the subject being discussed.
Example: “The lecture on bees went off on a tangent about his holiday in Crete.”
Origin: In geometry a tangent touches a curve at one point and then heads off in its own direction. The figurative use for a speaker who leaves the topic is found from the 18th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: irse por los cerros de Úbeda Literally: To go off into the hills of Úbeda
German: vom Hundertsten ins Tausendste kommen Literally: To come from the hundredth into the thousandth
More English idioms
- clear as day Completely obvious.
- have had it up to here To be completely fed up.
- sly as a fox Very cunning.
- walk a tightrope To be in a situation where one small mistake would be disastrous.
- a spare tire A roll of fat around the waist.
- count one's chickens before they hatch To rely on something good before it has actually happened.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
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