- Home
- Idioms
- sooner
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.
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.
had rather do something
and had sooner do somethingprefer 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
no sooner than something
not before a particular time The new drug is expected to be ready no sooner than early next year.
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.
sooner or later
at some time in the future Don't worry, sooner or later the cat will come home.
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.
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.'
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
no sooner ... than
As soon as: No sooner was the frost off the ground than the work began.
sooner or later
At some time; eventually: Sooner or later you will have to face the facts.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Bulus | | - | Arabic |
Edgar | | ED-gər (English), ed-GAHR (French) | English, French |
Aeolus | | [i:ələs] | |
Calum | | KAL-um | Scottish |
SinÉAd | | shi-NAYD | Irish |
Maunu | | MOW-noo | Finnish |