He smiled and said, top of the morning to you.
top of the morning
idiomA generic, cheerful greeting said to someone in the morning.
Origin
first recorded 20th c. disputed originA working-class phrase once popular throughout the British Isles, possibly in reference to cream rising in milk. It has been revived into popular consciousness, and is associated with Irishmen, by the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959).
My neighbor always shouts top of the morning to me as he walks his dog.
The innkeeper greeted his guests with a hearty top of the morning before serving their breakfast.
- 01
cherry on top
Synonym of icing on the cake (“a thing which intensifies the appreciation of something already good, or (ironic) the regretting of something already bad”).
- 02
forget to take one's medication this morning
To be annoyed or irritable, or to behave in an ill-mannered way, particularly in the morning.
- 03
morning person
A person who wakes up, without difficulty, early each morning and is alert and active during the first part of the day.
- 04
on top
In a dominant position.
- 05
over the top
Beyond normal, expected, or reasonable limits; outrageous.
- 06
put the bottom rail on top
To reverse a hierarchy.
- 07
son of the morning
A traveler.
- 08
top banana
The boss, the leader.