sooner



would sooner

Would rather. Often used to show one's disgust or displeasure with a potential event, outcome, or course of action. I would sooner join the nunnery than go on another date with John! His arrogance was positively repulsive! Susie just has no interest in softball this year. I think she would sooner spend her afternoons at the library than on the field.
See also: sooner

easier said than done

Cliché said of a task that is easier to talk about than to do. Yes, we must find a cure for cancer, but it's easier said than done. Finding a good job is easier said than done.
See also: done, easy, said

had rather do something

 and had sooner do something
prefer to do something. (The had is usually expressed as the contraction, 'd.) I'd rather go to town than sit here all evening. They'd rather not.
See also: rather

no sooner said than done

an expression indicating that something has been done quickly and obediently. Jill: Can I help you out? Jane: Yes! Put these files in alphabetical order. Jill: No sooner said than done. The service at the hotel was really remarkable. Everything we asked for was no sooner said than done.
See also: done, said, sooner

Not if I see you sooner, and Not if I see you first.

Inf. a response to I'll see you later. (This means you will not see me if I see you first, because I will avoid you.) Tom: See you later. Mary: Not if I see you sooner. John: Okay. If you want to argue, I'll just leave. See you later. Mary: Not if I see you first.
See also: and, first, if, not, see

sooner or later

eventually; in the short term or in the long term. He'll have to pay the bill sooner or later. she'll get what she deserves sooner or later.
See also: later, sooner

sooner than you think

an expression stating that something will happen sooner than a time expected or just mentioned. Sally: I'm going to have to stop pretty soon for a rest. Mary: Sooner than you think, I'd say. I think one of our tires is low. Tom: The stock market is bound to run out of steam pretty soon. Bob: Sooner than you think from the look of today's news.
See also: sooner, think

sooner the better

The sooner something [referred to] gets done, the better things will be. Bob: When do you need this? Mary: The sooner the better. Bob: Please get the oil changed in the station wagon. The sooner the better. Alice: I'll do it today.
See also: better, sooner

easier said than done

less difficult to talk about than to do Gun control may be a good idea, but actually getting the guns out of the peoples' hands is easier said than done.
See also: done, easy, said

no sooner than something

not before a particular time The new drug is expected to be ready no sooner than early next year.
See also: sooner

no sooner do something than do something else

immediately after one thing happens another thing happens I had no sooner gotten my bags unpacked than I felt as if I had never been on vacation. He was no sooner graduated than he was on his way to California. She no sooner completed one project than she invested the profits in the next.
See also: sooner

sooner or later

at some time in the future Don't worry, sooner or later the cat will come home.
See also: later, sooner

easier said than done

something that you say when something seems like a good idea but it would be difficult to do The doctor says I should stop smoking but that's easier said than done.
See also: done, easy, said

No sooner said than done.

something that you say when something is done as soon as someone asks for it or suggests it 'Would you mind closing the window for a while?' 'No sooner said than done.'
See also: done, said, sooner

easier said than done

Also, more easily said than done. Describing something more readily talked about than accomplished, as in Keeping the cats off the sofa is easier said than done. This expression also was put as sooner or better said than done . Today, the variant ( more easily) is still heard less often than the original. [c. 1450]
See also: done, easy, said

had rather

Also, had sooner. Would prefer. For example, I had rather you let me do the driving, or He'd sooner switch than fight. This idiom today is often replaced by would rather. [Late 1500s] Also see just as soon.
See also: rather

no sooner said than done

Accomplished immediately, as in He said we should leave and, no sooner said than done. This expression employs no sooner ... than in the sense of "at once," a usage dating from the mid-1500s.
See also: done, said, sooner

sooner or later

Eventually, at some unspecified future time, as in Sooner or later we'll have to answer that letter, or It's bound to stop raining sooner or later. This term, which generally implies that some future event is certain to happen, was first recorded in 1577.
See also: later, sooner

sooner the better, the

As quickly or early as possible, as in As for stopping that check, the sooner the better. This idiom was first recorded in 1477.
See also: sooner

no sooner ... than

As soon as: No sooner was the frost off the ground than the work began.
See also: sooner

sooner or later

At some time; eventually: Sooner or later you will have to face the facts.
See also: later, sooner

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Bulus-Arabic
EdgarED-gər (English), ed-GAHR (French)English, French
Aeolus[i:ələs]
CalumKAL-umScottish
SinÉAdshi-NAYDIrish
MaunuMOW-nooFinnish