When in rome do as the romans do
Follow local custom, as in Kate said they’d all be wearing shorts or blue jeans to the outdoor wedding, so when in Rome—we’ll do the same. This advice allegedly was Saint Ambrose’s answer to Saint Augustine when asked whether they should fast on Saturday as Romans did, or not, as in Milan. It appeared in English by about 1530 and remains so well known that it is often shortened, as in the example.
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- When-issued
adjective 1. of, relating to, or noting an agreement to buy securities paid for at the time of delivery. Abbreviation: wi, w.i.
- When it comes to
Also, if or when it comes right down to. As regards, when the situation entails. For example, When it comes to renting or buying, you’ll spend about the same amount. It is also put as when it comes down to it or that, as in If it comes right down to it, they said you […]
- When johnny comes marching home
“When Johnny Comes Marching Home” definition A popular song from the American Civil War. The first stanza is: When Johnny comes marching home again, hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll give him a hearty welcome then, hurrah! Hurrah! The men will cheer, the boys will shout, The ladies, they will all turn out, And we’ll all feel gay, […]
- When least expected
When something is not awaited, as in My brother always calls when least expected, or You might know that the furnace would break down when least expected—we just had it overhauled.
- When pigs fly
Never, as in Sure he’ll pay for the drinks—when pigs fly. Equating the flight of pigs with something impossible dates from the early 1600s, when several writers alleged that pigs fly with their tails forward. The idiom is also put as pigs may fly.