not in Kansas anymore
No longer in quiet and comfortable surroundings.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“We moved to the city and we're not in Kansas anymore.”
“You are not in Kansas anymore now that you work at this busy hospital.”
“After leaving her small town for Tokyo, she realized she was not in Kansas anymore.”
“When the intern walked into the high-stakes boardroom meeting, the aggressive tone made him realize he was not in Kansas anymore.”
“After years of working in a quiet library, starting a job at a loud construction site felt like I was not in Kansas anymore.”
“The moment he stepped off the train into the chaos of the metropolis, he knew he was not in Kansas anymore.”
first recorded 20th c.
The phrase originates in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, spoken by the character Dorothy to her dog, Toto. The line, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” is delivered as the pair transitions from their monochromatic home to the vibrant, unfamiliar setting of Oz. While the script marks the arrival in a specific fictional geography, the wording has persisted in English as a standard observation for the loss of the familiar.
Last updated August 10, 2026