trip the light fantastic

Idioms and Phrases

Dance, as in Let's go out tonight and trip the light fantastic . This expression was originated by John Milton in L'Allegro (1632): “Come and trip it as ye go, On the light fantastick toe.” The idiom uses trip in the sense of “a light, tripping step,” and although fantastick was never the name of any particular dance, it survived and was given revived currency in James W. Blake's immensely popular song, The Sidewalks of New York (1894).

Example Sentences

Recalling how their daughter always loved to watch them trip the light fantastic, Vásquez recorded a home video in which he danced to The Flirts’ “Danger.”

From Washington Times

Later that evening, the newlyweds will trip the light fantastic at Frogmore House alongside 200 of their closest friends.

From BBC

“I wanted it to scare me more, to jolt me into sort of tripping the light fantastic,” Ms. Morgan said.

From New York Times

Even if you have more in common with a wooden nutcracker than a sugarplum fairy, you can still trip the light fantastic — emphasis on tripping — during a drop-in lesson at Ballet Fantastique .

From Washington Post

If your idea of a fun Saturday night inclines more toward swinging a light sabre than tripping the light fantastic, then a new bar in Los Angeles may be just the place for you.

From Reuters

Related Words

• disco
• samba
• tango
• waltz