ENGLISH
REFERENCE

field day

idiom
Meaning

A great time or a great deal to do; a period of bustling activity.


Origin

disputed origin

Some postulate the idiomatic usage is derived from the "parade day" military use. A parade is much easier than the soldiers’ usual drilling and intense exercise.

Examples
SIMPLE

The kids had a field day playing in the park all afternoon.

CONTEXTUAL

The local journalists had a field day when they discovered the mayor was hiding secret bank accounts.

COMPLEX

Given the abundance of unverified rumors circulating online, the gossip columnists had a field day dissecting every detail of the celebrity's sudden departure.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    a cold day in July

    The time of occurrence of an event that will never happen.

  2. 02

    a day late and a dollar short

    Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.

  3. 03

    a year and a day

    A long time.

  4. 04

    as the day is long

    Unceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.

  5. 05

    bad hair day

    A day when things seem to be unmanageable or go wrong.

  6. 06

    banyan day

    In British naval tradition, a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship.

  7. 07

    black day

    A day of great disaster, misfortune or unhappiness.

  8. 08

    call it a day

    To cease an activity.

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