Word.ws English Dictionary

takes time by the forelock

takes time by the forelock is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take time by the forelock.

Meaning of take time by the forelock

Verb

take time by the forelock (third-person singular simple present takes time by the forelock, present participle taking time by the forelock, simple past took time by the forelock, past participle taken time by the forelock)

  1. (idiomatic, imperative, often) To seize an opportunity quickly before it is no longer available.
    • Tell her the ioyous time wil not be staid, / Unlesse she doe him by the forelock take;1595, Edmund Spenser, Amoretti, Sonnet 70

Questions about takes time by the forelock

What is takes time by the forelock the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Takes time by the forelock is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take time by the forelock.

Words near takes time by the forelock in the dictionary

  1. takes the wheel
  2. takes the wind out of someone's sails
  3. takes the words out of someone's mouth
  4. takes the wrong turn at Albuquerque
  5. takes time
  6. takes time by the forelock
  7. takes time off
  8. takes time out
  9. takes to
  10. takes to court
  11. takes to drink

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: takes time by the forelock (page history and authors); take time by the forelock (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “takes time by the forelock.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/takes_time_by_the_forelock. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.