kiss something goodbye
Meaning: To accept that one has lost something or will never get it.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “If you lend him money, you can kiss it goodbye.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: As if giving a farewell kiss to something that is leaving for good. The figurative use is common from the 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: zu Grabe tragen — literally: to carry to the grave
- French: Faire son deuil de quelque chose — literally: To make one's mourning for something
More idioms — Daily Life
- set one's sights on — To decide to try to get or achieve something.
- God forbid — Used to say that one hopes something bad will not happen.
- kill them all and let God sort them out — A grim or joking call to act ruthlessly without distinguishing innocent from guilty.
- play hooky — To skip school or work without permission.
- sing someone's praises — To praise someone enthusiastically.
- grasp all, lose all — If you try to get too much, you may end up with nothing.
More English idioms
- a little bird told me — I learned it from a secret source I won't name.
- put one's feet up — To relax and rest.
- blow a gasket — To lose one's temper completely.
- hearts and flowers — Excessive sentimentality.
- the power behind the throne — Someone with no official title who secretly controls a leader.
- born in a trunk — Raised in a family of traveling performers and in the business from childhood.
From our untranslatable words
- Waldeinsamkeit — The serene, faintly mystical feeling of being alone in the woods, at peace with nature.
- Meriggiare — To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
- Backpfeifengesicht — A face that is just begging to be slapped — someone so smug you can't help the urge.