once-over-lightly

[ wuhns-oh-ver-lahyt-lee ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a hasty or superficial treatment, look, examination, etc.; once-over:

   The maid gave the room the once-over-lightly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of once-over-lightly¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Idioms and Phrases

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

Related Words

• flip through
• leaf through
• peruse
• read
• scan
• skim