alight



set the heather alight

To do wonderful or exciting things; to cause a great or remarkable sensation in the world; to be extremely exciting, popular, famous, renowned, etc. (Often used in the negative to indicate the opposite. Said especially in Scotland.) Primarily heard in UK. I wouldn't be too concerned with what he thinks of you. For all his money and education, he's hardly setting the heather alight, is he? When she was a child, Janet dreamed of setting the heather alight as a famous actress.
See also: alight, heather, set

set the Thames alight

To do wonderful or exciting things; to cause a great or remarkable sensation in the world; to be extremely exciting, popular, famous, renowned, etc. (Refers to the Thames river in London. Often used in the negative to indicate the opposite.) Primarily heard in UK. I wouldn't be too concerned with what he thinks of you. For all his money and education, he's hardly setting the Thames alight, is he? When she was a child, Janet dreamed of setting the Thames alight as a famous actress.
See also: alight, set, Thames

set the world alight

To do wonderful or exciting things; to cause a great or remarkable sensation in the world; to be extremely exciting, popular, famous, renowned, etc. (Often used in the negative to indicate the opposite.) I wouldn't be too concerned with what he thinks of you. For all his money and education, he's hardly setting the world alight, is he? As a girl, Janet dreamed of setting the world alight as a famous actress.
See also: alight, set, world

alight from

To get down from, or off of, something (usually a vehicle). The children alighted from the school bus on the first day of school. We've landed, but we still need to alight from the plane.
See also: alight

alight (up)on

1. To land or rest upon something. The large black crow alighted on the telephone wire high above the street. As he walked into the room, his eyes alighted upon a gorgeous woman wearing a red dress.
2. To arrive at a thought or idea. The engineer alighted on a mathematical solution to the problem he'd been trying to solve all week.
See also: alight

alight from something

to get off something; to get down off something. Almost three hundred people alighted from the plane.
See also: alight

alight (up)on someone or something

to land on something; [for a bird or other flying animal] to come to rest on something. (Upon is more formal than on.) A small bird alighted on the branch directly over my head. It alighted upon the branch and began to sing.
See also: alight, on

alight on

v.
1. To come down and settle on something; land on something: I watch the birds alight on the branches outside my window.
2. To discover or arrive at something by chance: The workers alighted on a simple solution to the problem.
See also: alight, on

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
KustiKOOS-teeFinnish
JaquelineJAK-ə-leen (English), JAK-ə-lin (English)English (Modern), Portuguese (Brazilian)
Shalev-Hebrew
Ludmila-Czech, Russian
Lysandros-Ancient Greek
Mayme-English