It’s almost Christmas time so we are going to look at some idioms and expressions that relate to Christmas. Watch the video to the end for an interesting slang expression!
Christmas Has Come Early
The first two idioms are expressions that people say when something absolutely fantastic happens. It might be a wonderful surprise, some brilliant news, or you might just be having one of those days when everything goes your way.
Whatever it is, when it happens you can say that… Christmas has come early. But obviously you can’t say that at Christmas time, it would sound silly. Any other time of the year is fine.
Example
I’ve just heard that my sister had a baby boy. Christmas has come early for our family.
To Have All Your Christmases Come At Once
And an even stronger expression is… to have all your Christmases come at once.
So, imagine if every Christmas happened at the same time, with all the gifts and celebrations, it would be awesome, epic even. The best thing ever.
Example
Reaching one million subscribers would be like having all my Christmases come at once. (go on, subscribe to Daybreak English!)
To Light Up Like A Christmas Tree
You probably already know what a Christmas tree is – an evergreen tree that people decorate as part of their Christmas celebrations. In the past, people used to put candles on their Christmas trees. But that’s a bit of a fire hazard. These days people like to decorate their Christmas trees with strings of tiny lights. My favourite name for these strings of lights is fairy lights. It looks like little fairies are flying around the tree.
This leads to our next Christmas idiom… to light up like a Christmas tree.
There are 4 different ways to use this expression. The first is the most literal.
1. to be covered or decorated with lights similar to what is put on a Christmas tree
2. when something is very brightly illuminated
3. when someone suddenly smiles brightly. Now this is not a fake, half-hearted smile, but a genuine smile of pure joy and delight
Examples
1. The Harbour Bridge was lit up like a Christmas tree for New Year’s Eve.
2. We replaced the faded old lightbulbs and now the house is all lit up like a Christmas tree.
3. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw her new puppy.
Lit Like a Christmas Tree
Christmas is a time for a lot of celebrating which, for many people, means drinking alcohol. And that brings me to the last way to use this expression.
In recent years, the word lit, has been used as a slang term to describe a person who is drunk. So a person who is lit like a Christmas tree is very drunk. Notice that we don’t use the phrasal verb lit up in this case, it’s simply lit. I have even seen a funny t-shirt with a picture of a Christmas tree, lying on its side and the caption “getting lit like a Christmas tree”. The expression is super casual.
Example
Everyone was lit like a Christmas tree at the birthday bash.
All that’s left to say is Happy Christmas to you all. Have a safe one. Comments and questions can be left under the video on YouTube.
Until next time!
