
IdiomDaily Life
English
the big leagues
Meaning: The highest, most competitive level of an activity.
Example: “With a national TV deal, the little bakery has made it to the big leagues.”
Origin: From American baseball, where the major leagues are the top professional level. The figurative use for any top tier dates from the early 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
French: La cour des grands Literally: The big children's playground
More English idioms
- lie through one's teeth To lie openly and shamelessly.
- slow on the uptake Slow to understand.
- kiss something goodbye To accept that one has lost something or will never get it.
- 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.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Razliubit To fall out of love — the process of ceasing to love someone you once loved, leaving behi…
- Mamihlapinatapai The look between two people who both want the same thing but neither is willing to initia…
- Ubuntu The philosophy that a person is a person only through other people — humanity expressed t…
Keep exploring