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The idiom "go down memory lane" means to reminisce or recall pleasant memories of the past. It is common in everyday language, mainly when people discuss their childhood, school days, old friends, or family.

In short: It means to think back on or relive happy moments from the past. It is often used sentimentally, to express nostalgia or affection for the past.

What Does "Go Down Memory Lane" Mean?

"Go down memory lane" means to think back or talk about the past, especially the happy or pleasant moments. It is often used when people want to share their memories with others or relive them in their minds.

Some crucial aspects of the idiom's meaning are:

• It is usually followed by the preposition "with" if another person is involved.
• It can be used in different tenses depending on the time frame of the action.
• It can be used in different moods depending on the attitude or intention of the speaker.
• It can be used in different voices depending on the perspective or focus of the sentence.

Where Does "Go Down Memory Lane" Come From?

The origin of the idiom "go down memory lane" can be traced back to the title of a popular song in 1924 called " Memory Lane ." The song was written by Bud de Sylva and composed by Larry Spier and Con Conrad. Several singers and bands, such as Dean Martin and Isham Jones, have sung it. The lyrics describe a nostalgic journey through the past, where the singer revisits his old love and dreams.

Here are some lines from the song:

"Come let us stroll down memory lane. Let's live those moments once again. Let's wander back to where we met, and try to banish all regret."

Historical Example

The phrase "memory lane" gradually evolved into the idiom "go down memory lane," which became more common and idiomatic over time. The idiom was first recorded in print in 1965, in a newspaper article about a reunion of World War II veterans. The article said: "They went down memory lane, recalling incidents that happened during their training days at Camp Shelby, Miss., before they went overseas."

10 Examples of "Go Down Memory Lane" in Sentences

Here are some examples of this idiom in different contexts and situations:

• Every time I hear that song, I go down memory lane and remember the first love of my life .
• She loved going down memory lane and looking at old family photos as of late .
• Let's go down memory lane and watch our wedding video together. Love ya!
• No questions asked . He didn't want to go down memory lane and discuss his painful past.
• They decided to go down memory lane and visit their old school one fine day .
• About last night , she went down memory lane and wrote a memoir about her childhood.
• It seemed like he enjoyed going down memory lane and telling stories to his grandchildren.
• Out of the blue , they went down memory lane and laughed at their silly mistakes.
• She felt blue when she went down memory lane and realized how much she missed her friends.
• He went down memory lane and felt grateful and happy for all his blessings.

Examples of "Go Down Memory Lane" in Pop Culture

Here are some examples of how this idiom has appeared in pop culture:

• In the 1991 film "The Fisher King," directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, there is a scene where the two main characters go to a video store and watch clips of old movies and TV shows. They "go down memory lane" and comment on their favorite actors and scenes.
• In the 2004 episode "The One with All the Other Ones" of the sitcom "Friends," which was the second part of the series finale, there is a montage of clips from previous episodes that show the memories and moments of the six friends. The episode is a tribute to the fans and a way of "going down memory lane" for the cast and crew.
• In the 2012 novel "The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling, her first adult book after the Harry Potter series, there is a character named Colin Wall, a teacher and a deputy headmaster. He often goes down memory lane and thinks about his past students and colleagues, especially his mentor, who died of cancer.

Other/Different Ways to Say "Go Down Memory Lane"

Here are some synonyms or related expressions that can be used to convey the same or similar meaning as the idiom:

10 Frequently Asked Questions About "Go Down Memory Lane"

Here are some frequently asked questions about the idiom, along with their answers:

• What does "go down memory lane" mean?
• What is the origin of the phrase "go down memory lane"?

The origin of the idiom "go down memory lane" can be traced back to the title of a popular song in 1924 called "Memory Lane."

• What are some synonyms for "go down memory lane"?

There are several synonyms or related expressions that can be used to convey the same or similar meaning, such as "reminisce," "recall," "remember," "recollect," "reflect," "revisit," "relive," or "review."

• What is the difference between "go down memory lane" and "reminisce"?

Both verbs mean to think or talk about past events or experiences, especially with pleasure or nostalgia. However, "go down memory lane" is more idiomatic and metaphorical, while "reminisce" is more literal and formal.

• Is "go down memory lane" always positive?

No, sometimes it can also imply sadness or regret, especially if the memories are painful or lost.

• Can you use "go down memory lane" in a question?

Yes, you can use it in a question, either as an invitation or a request. Example: "Do you want to go down memory lane with me?"

• How do you use "go down memory lane" in a sentence?

You can use it in various contexts and situations, such as conversations, stories, speeches, or songs. It is usually followed by the preposition "with" if another person is involved. It can be used in different tenses depending on the time frame of the action. It can be used in different moods depending on the attitude or intention of the speaker. It can be used in other voices depending on the perspective or focus of the sentence.

• What are some benefits of "going down memory lane"?

It can help you appreciate and cherish the past and the people and things that were part of it. In addition, it can help you learn from your experiences and mistakes and grow as a person. Furthermore, it can help you cope with stress, loss, or change and find comfort and solace in your memories. Lastly, it can help you connect with others who share your memories and strengthen your relationships.

• What are some drawbacks of "going down memory lane"?

It can make you sad or depressed, especially if the memories are painful or lost. Additionally, it can make you feel nostalgic or regretful, especially if the past was better than the present. Moreover, it can make you lose touch with reality and neglect the present and the future. It can also isolate you from others who do not share your memories and create conflicts or misunderstandings.

• How popular is the idiom "go down memory lane" ?

It is quite popular nowadays as nostalgia is a common theme in some social media posts.

Final Thoughts About "Go Down Memory Lane"

The idiom "go down memory lane" is a common and expressive way of saying someone thinks or talks about the past, especially the happy or pleasant moments. It originated from the title of a popular song in 1924 and has been used in various forms of pop culture since then.

In summary:

• It means to reminisce or recall pleasant memories of the past.
• It is often used in a sentimental way to express nostalgia or regret.
• It can be modified by using different verbs or nouns.
• Depending on the action's time frame, attitude, and perspective, it can be used in different tenses, moods, and voices.

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What does Trip down mean?

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travel down vs travel

• Thread starter edwar f
• Start date Mar 31, 2009
• Mar 31, 2009

What´s the difference between "travel down" and travel? It´s a phrasal verb?  

Senior Member

What context are you seeing/hearing this in?  

TriglavNationalPark

People typically "travel down" a road, a path, a river, etc. This is a set phrase. If you describe someone as "traveling down from [somewhere]", the assumption is that the person either traveled from a higher place to a lower place, or that he/she traveled in a southerly direction (i.e. down on a map).  

I´ve read this in Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster "I travelled down there from Westchester to scope out the terrain" there = Brooklyn  

edwar f said: I´ve read this in Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster "I travelled down there from Westchester to scope out the terrain" there = Brooklyn Click to expand...

GreenWhiteBlue

"Travel down" is not a set phrase or a phrasal verb. The verb is "travel", and "down" indicates the direction. Here, it is a shortened form of "I travelled down to Brooklyn", with "down" being synonymous with "south". You can use any number of prepositions to show where you travelled, and none of them are parts of phrasal verbs: I travelled up to the top of the mountain . (I travelled up there ) I travelled down into the valley . (I travelled down there ) I travelled through the de sert. (I travelled through there ) I travelled by the shore of the lake . (I travelled by there ) I travelled over the crest of the Rocky Mountains . (I travelled over there ) I travelled along the edge of the Pacific Ocean . (I travelled along there )  

Thank you for your kind help  

MJSinLondon

Over here (UK) "travel down" doesn't always mean travel South. It is sometimes used to denote travel in any direction but away from a city. For example, someone who lives in the suburbs of London will talk of "travelling up" to London or "travelling down" from London whether they live north, south, east or west of the centre of the city.  

Just as MJS said, it doesn't necessarily denote walking southward. I'm accustomed to hearing "walking down the street" which simply means "walking along the street" with no particular bearing in mind.  

picopico said: Just as MJS said, it doesn't necessarily denote walking southward. I'm accustomed to hearing "walking down the street" which simply means "walking along the street" with no particular bearing in mind. Click to expand...

absolutely true, Triglav  

• Apr 1, 2009

TriglavNationalPark said: People typically "travel down" a road, a path, a river, etc. This is a set phrase. If you describe someone as "traveling down from [somewhere]", the assumption is that the person either traveled from a higher place to a lower place, or that he/she traveled in a southerly direction (i.e. down on a map). Click to expand...

mplsray said: I would add that among the examples of traveling from a higher place to a lower place is travel down a river If you were to go north along the Red River of the North , you would be traveling down the river. Click to expand...

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of trip (someone) up in English

Trip (someone) up.

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• I tripped up on a piece of loose carpet .
• He deliberately tripped me up.
• She tripped up and dropped the tray .
• He tripped up on the doorstep .
• A fallen branch tripped me up.
• collapse under someone's/something's weight
• collapse/fall in a heap idiom
• drop like flies idiom
• knock someone over
• let go idiom
• overbalance
• parachutist

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

• balls (something) up
• blunderingly
• make a cock-up of something
• misdiagnose
• misdiagnosis
• misremember
• mistranscribe
• stumblingly
• to err is human (to forgive divine). idiom
• uncorrectable

trip up (someone) | American Dictionary

Trip up (someone), translations of trip (someone) up.

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delaying tactics

actions that are intended to make something happen more slowly, in order to win an advantage

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Eligible employees have the right to refuse employer or third-party contact outside of working hours in some circumstances.

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For small business employers and their employees, the right to disconnect provisions apply from 26 August 2025 .

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Example: Employee’s personal circumstances make out of hours contact unreasonable

Selim is a consultant and is working on a major project for a client. Selim has 2 young children. He has flexible working arrangements and his working hours are 7.30 am to 4 pm so that he can pick up his children from daycare.

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Her supervising partner, Devi, has let Elizabeth know that a reasonable amount of out of hours contact and work will be required during her acting period to deliver the project. She is also told that this has been factored into her higher pay.

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In her second week in the role, Elizabeth leaves work at 5 pm. Shortly after, Devi finds out that Elizabeth’s team needs to urgently provide the client with additional documents for the project by 10 am tomorrow. It will take around 3 hours to prepare the documents. Devi tries to call Elizabeth on her personal mobile and sends her a text message explaining the situation.

Elizabeth doesn’t answer the calls as she’s about to go to the gym and then run some errands. She reads the full message at 8 pm but decides that it’s too late to respond to Devi. Based on the circumstances, Elizabeth’s refusal to monitor or respond to Devi’s contact could be unreasonable.

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Employers and employees are encouraged to discuss out of hours contact and set expectations that suit the workplace and the employee’s role. Where possible, there are benefits to having these conversations before out of hours contact happens.

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It’s important to check the relevant award, enterprise agreement or employment contract for entitlements that may apply. Learn more about Pay and wages and Employment conditions .

For example, if there’s a serious issue, an employee may prefer to be called on their personal phone so that they don’t have to monitor a work phone or email account.

For example, managers and supervisors may formalise arrangements for out of hours contact and communicate those arrangements with senior leaders. For external clients, managers and supervisors may consider whether and how they should discuss expectations about communication with their clients.

For example, the arrangement could be reviewed on a regular basis or when there’s a change in an employee’s hours (such as a change to hours or work due to a flexible work arrangement).

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For example, managers can develop their skills by:

• completing our Difficult conversations in the workplace manager online course .
• reading our Consultation and cooperation in the workplace guide.

Employees can develop their skills by completing our Difficult conversations in the workplace employee course .

For example, updates to position descriptions to reflect expectations for out of hours contact.

For example, recording the arrangement in writing.

Tip: Guidance on the right to disconnect

The Australian Public Service Commission has published guidance on the right to disconnect in the public service sector .

The Fair Work Commission has published a video on understanding the new right to disconnect as well as a Right to disconnect fact sheet . They’re also required to make guidelines about the operation of the right to disconnect. These are not yet available.

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Sources reference: Fair Work Act 2009 s.333M–333W, s.340

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Pope, 87, Embarks on ‘Physical Test’ in Grueling Asia Tour

The 11-day trip, a signal that Francis does not intend to slow down, requires nearly 45 hours of air travel and meetings in tropical climates.

By Emma Bubola

Reporting from Vatican City and Jakarta, Indonesia

Pope Francis leaves Monday on an 11-day trip to Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest and among the most complicated of his tenure. It could be particularly challenging for Francis, 87, who has been using a wheelchair and battling health problems.

But the trip, which includes a stop in Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim majority country — also signals he has no intention of slowing down his outreach to faraway Catholics.

Francis will visit four countries for a total of about 20,000 miles by plane. From Indonesia he goes to Papua New Guinea, then East Timor and Singapore, as he deepens his engagement with Asia, one of his priorities.

The trip will include more than 43 hours of air travel and meetings with local faithful, clergy and politicians in cities with tropical climates or high levels of pollution on the other side of the world from Rome.

“It’s a physical test,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Villanova University, “and a sign that this pontificate is far from being over.”

Why is he visiting these countries?

The pope chose four island nations as he extends his outreach to what he calls “the peripheries,” a term for overlooked, faraway places with small, minority or persecuted Catholic communities. The trip is also one of Francis’ boldest engagements with Asia, a fast-growing part of the world, which the pope has always regarded as a strategic objective.

Francis made a largely secretive deal with China in 2018 for the appointment of bishops, but not all issues have been resolved, as China’s government still exerts strong political control over religious life, said Gianni Criveller, dean of studies at the PIME International Missionary School of Theology in Milan.

While no pope has been able to visit China, Francis has taken trips, such as to Mongolia, that have basically put him on China’s doorstep. This time as well, Mr. Faggioli said, the trip is seen as an attempt to “talk to countries he can’t go to.”

He said the trip also showed Francis’ ambition to make the Roman Catholic Church truly global — drawing attention to areas not traditionally of Christian culture and where Catholicism coexists with other religions, relying on the communities’ devotion rather than on wealth, endowments or a historical hegemony.

Unlike in Europe, the Catholic church in Asia does not “rest on its laurels,” said Mr. Faggioli, and believing is in some cases still an act of resistance.

“He sends a message to all the Catholics,” Mr. Faggioli said. “That the future of the church looks more like these churches in which we are a minority than those in which we are a majority.”

The pope’s first stop, Indonesia, also reflects Francis’ commitment to promoting dialogue between Muslims and Christians. He was the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula , in 2019.

He is also likely to urge global action to protect the environment, in a part of the world that is particularly vulnerable to climate change, including rising sea levels and severe weather events like droughts and typhoons.

Is the pope too frail for such a trip?

The Vatican originally had considered the trip for 2020 but canceled it because of the pandemic. Despite being older now, the pope is committed to showing that despite his age and ailments he is “still alive though some wanted me dead,” as he once joked .

In recent years, Francis’ health has been a source of concern. Within three years, he underwent a hernia operation, had colon surgery and was hospitalized for a respiratory infection. Last year, he did not attend a summit in Dubai because of health problems.

Still, the pope has been seen walking in recent weeks, instead of using a wheelchair, as he has increasingly done.

In the 11-day trip, he will be accompanied by his medical team (two nurses and a doctor) and, in a first, by his secretaries. Matteo Bruni, the Vatican’s spokesman, said at a news briefing on Friday that no extra precautions were taken for this trip, as the measures they normally adopt were considered sufficient.

Still, the ambitious itinerary for the octogenarian leader of the world’s Roman Catholics inevitably has stirred questions about the impact on his health.

Reporters questioned Mr. Bruni about the 92 percent humidity that the pope would face in Vanimo, a town tucked between Papua New Guinea’s rainforest and the Pacific Ocean. Markus Solo, an Indonesian priest who focuses on interfaith dialogue at the Vatican, said he worried about the impact that Jakarta’s high pollution could have, partly because Francis lost part of a lung to infection as a teenager.

“Hopefully, the government will do something in order to reduce the pollution during the visit,” he said.

The head of the Environmental Service of Jakarta, Asep Kuswanto, said no specific plans for curbing air pollution had been made for the pope’s visit.

Still, it appeared that some measures had been taken to protect the pope’s health. Francis was not expected to visit Flores, a predominantly Catholic Indonesian island.

“His health condition doesn’t permit him to go all that way,” said Father Solo, originally from Flores. “We have to be very prudent.”

Ismail Cawidu, a senior official at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, an important stop on the visit, said that the pope would not tour the inside of the mosque but instead meet other religious leaders at a plaza outside.

Mr. Ismail said they had asked the Vatican if the pope could cross the “tunnel of friendship” that connects the mosque, Southeast Asia’s largest, with a Catholic cathedral but were still awaiting a response.

What can we expect from the trip?

Indonesia has a large Christian population, with a lively Catholic community. The country has been considered an example of interfaith tolerance but is still facing challenges to its image, as extremist Islamic groups have exerted growing pressure on other religions.

The pope’s visit to the Istiqlal mosque will include a meeting with representatives of the country’s officially recognized religions — Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Catholic and Protestant Christianity. He will also celebrate Mass at a stadium in the city, where tens of thousands are likely to attend.

Papua New Guinea, where more than 800 languages are spoken, is one of the world’s poorest countries, and Pope Francis “wants to send a message that he can reach everyone, that nobody is too faraway,” Father Criveller said. After spending most of next weekend in Port Moresby, the capital, Francis will fly north to the coastal town of Vanimo, and he may address the issue of protecting nature from extractive businesses and the effects of climate change.

In East Timor, Asia’s newest nation and the only predominantly Catholic country on the trip, Francis is to follow in the footsteps of John Paul II, who also visited the conflict-scarred nation. Francis may face questions over the scandal involving Carlos Ximenes Belo , a Nobel-winning bishop and independence hero who the Vatican acknowledged had sexually abused young boys.

In Singapore, an economic powerhouse with a blend of Asian ethnicities and religions, Francis will witness one of the world’s most diverse societies up close, as well as a small but dynamic Catholic community, where the faithful still crowd pews.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Slang dictionary

Rabbit hole, what does rabbit hole mean.

Used especially in the phrase going down the rabbit hole or falling down the rabbit hole , a rabbit hole is a metaphor for something that transports someone into a wonderfully (or troublingly) surreal state or situation. On the internet, a rabbit hole frequently refers to an extremely engrossing and time-consuming topic.

Where does rabbit hole come from?

Literally, a rabbit hole is what the animal digs for its home. The earliest written record of the phrase dates back to the 17th century. But the figurative rabbit hole begins with Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . In its opening chapter, “Down the Rabbit-Hole,” Alice follows the White Rabbit into his burrow, which transports her to the strange, surreal, and nonsensical world of Wonderland.

Since then, Carroll’s rabbit hole has proved a popular and useful reference. The Oxford English Dictionary finds the first allusive rabbit hole in a 1938 edition of The Yale Law Journal : “It is the Rabbit-Hole down which we fell into the Law, and to him who has gone down it, no queer performance is strange.” Over much of the 20th century, rabbit hole has been used to characterize bizarre and irrational experiences. It’s especially used to reference magical, challenging, and even dangerous places or positions, similar to Carroll’s topsy-turvy Wonderland.

Rabbit hole has many metaphorical applications—from frustrating red tape to the mind-bending complexity of science to hallucinations during altered states—all united by a common sense of passing into some labyrinthine , logic-defying realm that, once entered, is hard to get out of. One can fall down the rabbit hole of government bureaucracy, healthcare, obtaining a green card, tax law, the political economy of modern Japan, puberty, college admissions, or quantum mechanics.

If you’re Neo in the hit film The Matrix, you can take the red pill —a pill that shows you the truth, as opposed to the blue pill, which keeps you in ignorance—and “see how deep the rabbit hole goes.” In a related note, some people literally take pills and go down the rabbit hole of a psychedelic drug trip.

But as Kathryn Schulz observed for The New Yorker in 2015, rabbit hole has further evolved in the information age: “These days…when we say that we fell down the rabbit hole, we seldom mean that we wound up somewhere psychedelically strange. We mean that we got interested in something to the point of distraction—usually by accident, and usually to a degree that the subject in question might not seem to merit.”

Thanks to the abundance, variety, and instant access of content online, many fall down internet rabbit holes which are often spectacularly, and addictively, niche: scary stories, obscure conspiracy theories, or famous last meals, for instance.

Other rabbit holes tend to be opened up by specific services or social media, which serve users item after item, link after link: Wikipedia, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, and so forth. These rabbit holes have become so common that people sometimes swap out rabbit for the name of the particular site, e.g. “I’ve fallen down an Instragram hole ” or “I’m falling down a wikihole.”

Examples of rabbit hole

Who uses rabbit hole.

From formal documents to internet status updates, rabbit hole is a very popular and widespread expression. Unlike earlier iterations of the metaphor, internet rabbit holes convey less a sense of weirdness, disorientation, or difficulty than they do of an intensely captivating diversion. Rabbit hole is also showing increasing use as a modifier, e.g. a rabbit-hole question or phenomenon.

This is not meant to be a formal definition of rabbit hole like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of rabbit hole that will help our users expand their word mastery.

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Definition of wind down

intransitive verb

transitive verb

• chill out [ slang ]
• mellow (out)

Examples of wind down in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wind down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1952, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near wind down

Cite this entry.

“Wind down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wind%20down. Accessed 2 Sep. 2024.

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Example sentences take a trip

The ten remaining contestants in the search for the nation's hottest new designer take a trip to the countryside.

So strip off, get the feel of sand between your toes, and take a trip to paradise.

We take a trip down memory lane and look at the most eventful.

If it's beer you prefer, then take a trip to your local brewery.

Then walk the calories off by taking a trip up to the raised deck skywalk.

Definition of 'take' take

Definition of 'trip' trip

Cobuild collocations take a trip.

Browse alphabetically take a trip

• take a tablet
• take a taxi
• take a tour
• take a trip
• take a tumble
• take a turn for the worse/take a turn for the better
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