in the mainstream
Meaning: In the group that represents the majority; out of the mainstream means on the edge of the majority.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: Daily Life
Origin: "Mainstream" started out purely geographical: coined in the 1660s from "main" and "stream," it named the principal, strongest current running through a river, as distinct from slower side channels or eddies along the banks. The figurative sense — the prevailing, dominant current of opinion, taste, or culture in a society — is first recorded in the writing of Thomas Carlyle in 1831, applying the same image of a river's main force of water to the main force of collective thought: being "in the mainstream" means moving with the current everyone else is moving with, rather than off to the side in a quieter, more isolated channel.
More idioms — Daily Life
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More English idioms
- it's all greek to me — Incomprehensible or unintelligible.
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- keep one's cool — To stay calm under stress; not to become angry.
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- keep one's fingers crossed — To hope for something; to wish for luck.
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From our untranslatable words
- Apericena — The evening drink whose accompanying buffet is generous enough to replace dinner altogeth…
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