take time by the forelock

take time by the forelock

To act decisively; to accept an opportunity without hesitation. If time is pictured with just a forelock of hair, then it can only be grabbed as it comes toward you, not as it leaves.

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– Who are you?
– I am the moment of seized opportunity that governs all.

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origin of ‘to take time by the forelock’
Pascal Tr;guerarts, etymology, French/English, literature, symbolismsAcad;mie fran;aise, Aesop, dictionaries, Edmund Spenser, Erasmus, Greek, human body, Italy, Latin, mythology, Phaedrus, phrases, Robert GreeneLeave a comment
 

MEANING


The phrase to take time, or opportunity, etc., by the forelock means to seize an opportunity.

Its earliest occurrence is from Menaphon Camillas alarum to slumbering Euphues, in his melancholie cell at Silexedra (London, 1589), by the English writer and playwright Robert Greene (1558-92):



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take time by the forelock
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
take time by the forelock
To act decisively; to accept an opportunity without hesitation. If time is pictured with just a forelock of hair, then it can only be grabbed as it comes toward you, not as it leaves.

What are you waiting for? Take time by the forelock and accept that fantastic internship!
My anxiety usually keeps me from taking time by the forelock.
See also: by, forelock, take, time
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
take time by the forelock seize an opportunity. literary
The Latin writer Phaedrus described Opportunity or Occasion as being bald except for a long forelock, a personification that was illustrated in Renaissance emblem books and was applied also to Time.
See also: by, forelock, take, time
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
See also:
not give (something) a second thought
without demur
accept (something) as gospel
gospel
without flinching


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Tug the forelock
To show excessive deference

Tug the forelock is an idiom that means to show excessive deference toward someone in a superior position. The phrase is an allusion to the former act of pulling one's frontmost hair in lieu of having a hat to tip. Pulling or tugging your forelock literally means pulling on your hair at the front middle as you bow your head, and historically was a sign given to a superior upon encountering

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The forelock or foretop is a part of a horse's mane, that grows from the animal's poll and falls forward between the ears and onto the forehead.
Human use
Forelock is slang for a human hairstyle popular in the 1980s. In the 19th century, it was a common salute where a person saluted another by "tugging the forelock" (see Salute).

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for·lock

noun
a lock of hair growing just above the forehead.
Similar:
tress
tuft
curl
ringlet
kiss-curl
lovelock
plait

the part of the mane of a horse or similar animal, which grows from the poll and hangs down over the forehead:

"she was braiding the forelock of one of her horses"
Translate forelock to

German
Stirnlocke