by inches

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, inch by inch . Gradually, bit by bit, as in We found ourselves in rush hour traffic, moving by inches . Shakespeare used this term in Coriolanus (5:4): “They'll give him death by inches.” Despite the increasing use of metric measurements, it survives, often as an exaggeration of the actual circumstance. The phrase to inch along , first recorded in 1812, means “to move bit by bit,” as in There was a long line at the theater, just inching along .

Word of the Day

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

by hook or crook by Jove

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