dear Идиома
for dear life
as though afraid of losing one
Dear John letter
A letter written by a partner explaining why they are ending the relationship is a Dear John letter.
Dear John letter|Dear John|John
n. phr. A note or a letter informing one that a romantic relationship or a marriage is over.
Jane left a "Dear John letter" on the table and went home to live with her parents.
dear me|dear
interj. Used to show surprise, fear, or some other strong feeling.
Dear me! My purse is lost, what shall I do now?
for dear life|for|life
adv. phr. As though afraid of losing your life.
He was running for dear life toward town. When the horse began to run, she held on for dear life.
dear
dear In addition to the idiom beginning with
dear, also see
for dear life;
nearest and dearest.
dear me
dear me Also,
oh dear. A polite exclamation expressing surprise, distress, sympathy, etc. For example,
Dear me, I forgot to mail it, or
Oh dear, what a bad time you've been having. These usages may originally have invoked God, as in
dear God or
oh God, which also continue to be so used. [Late 1600s]
nearest and dearest
nearest and dearest One's closest and fondest friends, companions, or relatives, as in
It's a small gathering—we're inviting only a dozen or so of our nearest and dearest. This rhyming expression has been used ironically since the late 1500s, as well as by Shakespeare in
1 Henry IV (3:2): “Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes, which art my nearest and dearest enemy?”