bring the house down
/ˌbrɪŋ ðə ˌhaʊs ˈdaʊn/INFORMAL · B2
Meaning
to make an audience laugh or clap very loudly
Examples
- 1Her impression of our head teacher brought the house down at the school concert.
- 2The best man's speech brought the house down; even the waiters were crying with laughter.
- 3The five-year-old's surprise dance brought the house down, and the audience clapped for ages.
- 4If you tell the story about the parrot, you'll bring the house down at the party.
- 5Did the comedian bring the house down, or did the jokes fall flat?
Grammar
Only bring changes: brings, bringing, brought. Keep the house between bring and down.
More idioms about home
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →go through the roofto rise to a very high level very quicklyon your doorstepvery close to where you liveuntil the cows come homefor a very long timehit hometo make you fully realise how serious something iseverything but the kitchen sinkalmost everything you can think ofa house of cardsa plan or organisation that could easily collapse
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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