Englishlook sharp
Meaning: To look neat and stylish; also, to hurry or be alert.
Example: “Look sharp: the inspectors arrive in five minutes.”
Origin: Documented from the early 1700s, with an early citation in Richard Steele's writing for The Spectator in 1711, originally meaning to keep a close, vigilant watch rather than to hurry. "Sharp" here draws on its old association with mental keenness and alertness, the same quality behind calling a quick-witted person "sharp" today. The phrase's meaning shifted by the early 1800s toward its now more common sense of moving quickly or hurrying, though the earlier link to alertness never fully disappeared — hurrying and staying alert both demand exactly the kind of active, engaged attention "sharp" originally described.
More English idioms
- make heads or tails of something To understand something.
- make or break To be the deciding factor in whether something succeeds or fails.
- make something from scratch To make something by putting together the separate basic components, rather than using a…
- make the grade To meet standards; to be satisfactory.
- make tracks To leave, usually quickly.
- mark time To wait out one's time by doing the minimum and without progressing.
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