go under the knife
Meaning: To have a surgical operation.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The striker will go under the knife next week to repair his knee.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The surgeon's knife stands for surgery itself. The phrase is recorded from the late 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Swedish: under kniven — literally: under the knife
- French: Passer sur le billard — literally: To go onto the billiard table
More idioms — Body & Senses
- only have eyes for — To be interested in or attracted to one person only.
- shoot oneself in the foot — To damage one's own interests through a foolish action.
- set tongues wagging — To cause people to gossip.
- twiddle one's thumbs — To do nothing while waiting or out of boredom.
- have a free hand — To have freedom to act as one sees fit.
- take a load off someone's mind — To relieve someone of a worry.
More English idioms
- take someone down a peg — To make an arrogant person more humble.
- you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy — People keep the habits and character of where they grew up.
- go to Canossa — To humble oneself and submit to an opponent.
- a captain of industry — A powerful business leader who runs a major company.
- the bigger they are, the harder they fall — The more powerful someone is, the worse their downfall.
- a day late and a dollar short — Too late and not enough to be useful.