once-over-lightly

American  

[wuhns-oh-ver-lahyt-lee] / ˈwʌnsˌoʊ vərˈlaɪt li /

noun

Informal.

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

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

---

once over lightly Idioms  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of once-over-lightly

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

This once-over-lightly approach is perhaps appropriate, given that Stritch was not inclined to introspection.

From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2019

She was not one for a once-over-lightly look at what the policy team was advocating.

From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2016

It’s a deliberately once-over-lightly way of proceeding, and professional philosophers and self-styled sophisticates will bail out before the second chapter.

From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2015

It all adds up to an entertaining 88 minutes, despite the film’s ramshackle construction and its once-over-lightly approach to political, cultural and athletic history.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2011

It can hardly hope to match the Times's massive concern with foreign and national news; it would be equally hard put to compete with the brisk, once-over-lightly coverage of the Daily News.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

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