once-over-lightly

[ wuhns-oh-ver-lahyt-lee ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a hasty or superficial treatment, look, examination, etc.; once-over:

   The maid gave the room the once-over-lightly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of once-over-lightly¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Idioms and Phrases

Cursorily, quickly, as in I did go over the program once over lightly, but perhaps I should read it more carefully . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Trump has always been a once-over-lightly kind of guy when it comes to policy.

From Los Angeles Times

This once-over-lightly approach is perhaps appropriate, given that Stritch was not inclined to introspection.

From Washington Post

It’s more a once-over-lightly juxtaposition of soil types and wine characteristics, along with a look at the grapes that thrive in each type of soil and suggestions of wine producers to seek out.

From New York Times

She was not one for a once-over-lightly look at what the policy team was advocating.

From Washington Post

But we common folk, staring woefully at our bathroom mirrors, tend to give it the once-over-lightly.

From New York Times

Related Words

• flip through
• leaf through
• peruse
• read
• scan
• skim