This is a way of asking “How are you?” using the verb to fare. In this sentence, faring means more-or-less the same as doing in “How are you doing?” But it has a more literary style and therefore more serious connotations. To fare is an old verb in English, which originally meant to journey or to travel. For […]

This common phrase refers to a person who speaks for the rational, prudent action among people who are behaving irrationally. It is usually said in a context where a group of people are behaving or planning to behave in a destructive or foolish manner. The voice of reason opposes foolish behavior. It can also describe […]

The commonly used phrase, under the weather, means “(feeling) a little ill”—such as with a mild cold or a hangover. It cannot be used to describe serious illness. Researchers agree that this phrase came from the language of sailors. When a sailor on a boat feels sick, they must stay below decks, inside the boat, […]

This saying means that we should transform bad situations into good ones. Lemons are famously sour in taste, and a sour taste symbolizes emotional pain, while sweetness symbolizes good feelings. So, the phrase when life gives you lemons . . . means when life causes you emotional pain . . . Lemonade, on the other hand, although […]

To play it by ear means to improvise, to make it up as you go along, to act without planning. The phrase originally meant playing a piece of music (“it”) without sheet music (notation), but rather only by listening to the music and playing intuitively. The word ear can always stand for the ability to play […]