Word.ws English Dictionary

took time by the forelock

took time by the forelock is the simple past 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 took time by the forelock

What is took time by the forelock the simple past of?
Took time by the forelock is the simple past of take time by the forelock.

Words near took time by the forelock in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: took 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.

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