Forget (about) it!
1. Inf. Drop the subject!; Never mind!; Don't bother me with it. Jane: Then, there's this matter of the unpaid bills. Bill: Forget it! You'll have to pay them all! Sally: What's this I hear about you and Tom? Sue: Forget about it! I don't want to talk to you about it.
2. Inf. Nothing. Sue: What did you say? Mary: Forget it! Tom: Now I'm ready to go. Sue: Excuse me? Tom: Oh, nothing. Just forget it.
3. Inf. You're welcome.; It was nothing. John: Thank you so much for helping me! Bill: Oh, forget it!' Bob: We're all very grateful to you for coming into work today on your day off. Mary: Forget about it! No problem!
forget about someone or something
1. to put someone or something out of one's mind. Don't forget about me! You ought to forget about all that.
2. to fail to remember something at the appropriate time. She forgot about paying the electric bill until the lights were turned off. She forgot about the children and they were left standing on the corner.
forget one's manners
to do something ill-mannered. Jimmy! Have we forgotten our manners?
forget oneself
to forget one's manners or training. (Said in formal situations in reference to belching, bad table manners, and, in the case of very young children, pants-wetting.) Sorry, Mother, I forgot myself. John, we are going out to dinner tonight. Please don't forget yourself.
Forget you!
Sl. Drop dead!; Beat it! Oh, yeah! Forget you! Forget you! Get a life!
Forgive and forget.
Prov. You should not only forgive people for hurting you, you should also forget that they ever hurt you. When my sister lost my favorite book, I was angry at her for weeks, but my mother finally convinced me to forgive and forget. Jane: Are you going to invite Sam to your party? Sue: No way. Last year he laughed at my new skirt. Jane: Come on, Sue, forgive and forget.
Remember to write,
and Don't forget to write. 1. Lit. a final parting comment made to remind someone going on a journey to write to those remaining at home. Alice: Bye. Mary: Good-bye, Alice. Remember to write. Alice: I will. Bye. Sally: Remember to write! Fred: I will!
2. Fig. a parting comment made to someone in place of a regular good-bye. (Jocular.) John: See you tomorrow. Bye. Jane: See you. Remember to write. John: Okay. See you after lunch. Jane: Yeah. Bye. Remember to write.
forget about something
do not expect something The hotel has room service, but forget about anyone wheeling an elegant meal into your room.
forget (about) it
(spoken) 1. do not even ask about it
People point at our car when we drive down the road, and when we stop somewhere, forget about it. I enjoyed dinner, but as for the party, well, forget it! Usage notes: used to say that something was so extreme it would be impossible to describe it, and sometimes humorously spelled fuggedaboutit to show how it is said
2. do not think or worry about it Want to have it all? Forget it! It can't be done. One editor's attitude was, if you understood all of it, fine, and if not, forget about it.
forgive and forget
to accept and not think about what someone has done to you If they can admit they were wrong, then they can surely forgive and forget.
forget it
Overlook it, it's not important; you're quite mistaken. This colloquial imperative is used in a variety of ways. For example, in
Thanks so much for helping-Forget it, it was nothing, it is a substitute for "don't mention it" or
you're welcome; in
Stop counting the change-forget it! it means "stop doing something unimportant" in
You think assembling this swingset was easy-forget it! it means "it was not at all easy"; and in
Forget it-you'll never understand this theorem it means that the possibility of your understanding it is hopeless. [c. 1900]
forget oneself
Lose one's reserve, temper, or self-restraint; do or say something out of keeping with one's position or character. For example, A teacher should never forget herself and shout at the class. Shakespeare used it in Richard II (3:2): "I had forgot myself: am I not king?" [Late 1500s]
forgive and forget
Both pardon and hold no resentment concerning a past event. For example,
After Meg and Mary decided to forgive and forget their differences, they became good friends . This phrase dates from the 1300s and was a proverb by the mid-1500s. For a synonym, see
let bygones be bygones.