- Home
- Idioms
- robin
robin
around Robin Hood's barn
A long, indirect route. A: "What took you guys so long to get here?" B: "Well, rather than just going through town, our esteemed driver took us all around Robin Hood's barn instead!"
go around Robin Hood's barn
To take a long, indirect route. A: "What took you guys so long to get here?" B: "Well, rather than just going through town, our esteemed driver went around Robin Hood's barn instead!"
all around Robin Hood's barn
going somewhere by an indirect route; going way out of the way [to get somewhere]; by a long and circuitous route. We had to go all around Robin Hood's barn to get to the little town.
round robin
1. A petition or other document signed by several persons in sequence, so that no one can tell who was the first to sign it. For example, We decided to send a round robin to management to protest the new rules about work hours . This term originally referred to a grievance presented by seamen to their captain, called round because of the circular sequence of names, but the source of robin has been lost. [Early 1700s]
2. In sports, a tournament in which each player or team plays against all of the others in turn. For example, The club always holds a tennis round robin on the Fourth of July. [Late 1800s]