once over lightly

Slang Dictionary

once over lightly definition


  1. mod.
    quickly and superficially; carelessly; cursorily. (This is hyphenated before a nominal.) : He looked at it once over lightly and agreed to do it.
  2. n.
    a perfunctory examination; a quick glance. : Once over lightly is not enough.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

once over lightly

Cursorily, quickly, as in I did go over the program once over lightly, but perhaps I should read it more carefully. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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