kingdom
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Related to kingdom: Kingdom of God, phylum
be blown to kingdom come
slang "Kingdom come," a phrase taken from the Lord's Prayer, refers to heaven or the afterlife.
1. To be killed by gunfire or an explosion. The infantry was blown to kingdom come by the enemy's mounted machine gun. I've heard there are still landmines around here, so we'll have to be careful. One wrong step and we'll be blown to kingdom come! The robber waved his gun and told us we'd be blown to kingdom come if we didn't stay back.
2. To be destroyed or obliterated by an explosion. The giant boulder was blown to kingdom come by about 10 tons of dynamite. I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been blown to kingdom come by the demolition crew. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship was blown to kingdom come.
blast (someone or something) to kingdom come
1. slang To kill someone with gunfire or an explosive device. "Kingdom come," a phrase taken from the Lord's Prayer, refers to heaven or the afterlife. The robber waved his gun and shouted, "Get back, or I'll blast you to kingdom come!" The infantry was blasted to kingdom come by the enemy's mounted machine gun. I've heard there are still landmines around here, so we'll have to be careful. One wrong step and we'll be blasted to kingdom come!
2. slang To destroy something with an explosion. If we blast these rocks to kingdom come, we should be able to rescue the trapped hikers from the cave. I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but it's already been blasted to kingdom come by the demolition crew. The gunpowder stored below somehow ignited, and the entire ship was blasted to kingdom come.
blow (someone or something) to kingdom come
1. slang To kill someone with gunfire or an explosion. "Kingdom come," a phrase taken from the Lord's Prayer, refers to heaven or the afterlife. The robber waved his gun and shouted, "Get back, or I'll blow you to kingdom come!" The enemy's mounted machine gun blew the infantry to kingdom come. I've heard there are still landmines around here, so we'll have to be careful. One wrong step will blow us to kingdom come!
2. slang To destroy something with an explosion. If we blow these rocks to kingdom come, we should be able to rescue the trapped hikers from the cave. I wish I could still go visit our old family home, but the demolition crew has already blown it to kingdom come. Once the gunpowder ignited, it blew the entire ship to kingdom come.
come (in)to (one's) kingdom
To reach a position of prominence or success. I'm so impressed with how successful his writing career has become. He's really come into his kingdom. It's so frustrating—I've been acting for years now, and I still haven't come to my kingdom. A: "Ben sure has come into his kingdom." B: "I know, I never expected the grade school troublemaker to be running his own successful company one day."
For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost.
proverb Due to a seemingly trivial detail or minor mishap, something much worse and more significant has come to pass. The phrase is a shortening of a longer proverb: “For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.” If only you'd taken your car in for an oil change when you were supposed to, this emergency trip to the mechanic could have been avoided. Ah, for want of a nail, the kingdom was lost. The entire company ended up folding due to a failure by one of its employees to mail the loan application on time. For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost. I told him repeatedly to do something about that leaking pipe, but no—and now, the whole basement is flooded. "For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost," as they say.
kingdom come
1. The end of time. Although you don't have to pay for medical care in this country, you'll sometimes be waiting until kingdom come to receive elective treatment. My wife and her sister will talk on the phone until kingdom come if nothing interrupts them!
2. Heaven; the afterlife. The phrase is taken from the Lord's Prayer; often used humorously. You all need to be very careful not to blow us to kingdom come while doing this experiment in the lab.
my kingdom for a horse
I would give all that I have for the thing that I currently lack. The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Richard III, when the title character bemoans his lack of a horse in the midst of a losing battle. I'm so thirsty—ugh, my kingdom for a horse! Or, better yet, for a drink of water!
send (someone or something) to kingdom come
1. slang To kill someone with gunfire or an explosive device. "Kingdom come," a phrase taken from the Lord's Prayer, refers to heaven or the afterlife. The robber waved his gun and shouted, "Get back, or I'll send you to kingdom come!"
2. slang To destroy something with an explosion. If we send these rocks to kingdom come, we should be able to rescue the trapped hikers from the cave.
the keys to the kingdom
A resource that will give the possessor access to the most complete or profound knowledge or power possible in a given area or pursuit. A reference to Matthew 16:19, when Jesus said to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Whatever you do, don't lose this external hard drive with all of our accounts and passwords. Anyone who has it will have the keys to the kingdom! Whichever candidate reaches the most citizens at a fundamental, grassroots level will have the keys to the kingdom securely in hand.
till kingdom come
For a very long, indefinite amount of time; forever. Although we don't have to pay for medical care in this country, you'll sometimes be waiting till kingdom come to receive elective treatment. My wife and her sister will talk on the phone till kingdom come if nothing interrupts them!
to kingdom come
1. To heaven or the afterlife. Used especially after the verbs "blow" or "blast." The phrase is taken from the Lord's Prayer. You all need to be very careful not to blow us to kingdom come while doing this experiment in the lab. He ordered his troops to blast the rebels to kingdom come.
2. To a huge or great degree; for an inordinate amount of time. As soon as the pharmaceutical company got a monopoly on the drugs, it began jacking up the prices to kingdom come on all of them. We're stuck, Jim—spinning the wheels to kingdom come isn't going to get us anywhere.
until kingdom come
For a very long, indefinite amount of time; forever. Although we don't have to pay for medical care in this country, you'll sometimes be waiting until kingdom come to receive elective treatment. My wife and her sister will talk on the phone until kingdom come if nothing interrupts them!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
blow someone or something to kingdom come
Fig. to destroy someone or something by means of an explosion. You'd better get that gas leak fixed or it will blow you and your car to kingdom come.
till kingdom come
Fig. until the end of the world; forever. Do I have to keep assembling these units till kingdom come? I'll hate her guts till kingdom come.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
blow someone/something to kingdom come
orblow someone/something from here to kingdom come
If someone blows someone or something to kingdom come or from here to kingdom come, they destroy them completely and often violently. She couldn't shoot freely for fear of blowing herself to kingdom come. She remembered him blowing the cliff to kingdom come without a moment's fear. Note: Verbs such as blast, bomb, and shoot are sometimes used instead of blow. We bombed the country from here to kingdom come.
to kingdom come
orfrom here to kingdom come
If something happens or is done to kingdom come or from here to kingdom come, it happens or is done over a large distance. We will chase them from here to kingdom come. The wind threatened to blow all the tents from here to kingdom come. Note: This comes from the line `Thy kingdom come' in the Lord's Prayer in the Bible. (Matthew 6:10)
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
come into (or to) your kingdom
achieve recognition or supremacy.till (or until) kingdom come
forever. informalto kingdom come
into the next world. informalKingdom come is the next world or eternity; it comes from the clause in the Lord's Prayer thy kingdom come .
1996 Total Sport Graham Gooch may be fast approaching his mid-forties but the old boy still clatters most bowlers to Kingdom come.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
blow, send, etc. somebody to kingdom ˈcome
(informal) kill somebody, especially with a gun, a bomb or other very violent methods: ‘If you try to call the police, I’ll blow you to kingdom come.’till/until kingdom ˈcome
(old-fashioned) for a long time, for ever: You can dig here until kingdom come, but you will never find water.The expression kingdom come in these two idioms means heaven or the next world.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
till kingdom come
mod. until the end of the world; forever. I’ll hate her guts till kingdom come.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
- be blown to kingdom come
- blow (someone or something) to kingdom come
- blow someone/something to kingdom come
- blow to kingdom come
- blow, send, etc. somebody to kingdom come
- blast (someone or something) to kingdom come
- send (someone or something) to kingdom come
- to kingdom come
- save (one's) soul
- (one) just doesn't get it