long suit
- noun
- Public speaking is not his long suit, but he excels at writing.
Examples
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Her ability to communicate is her long suit.
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Time management is not my long suit.
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Her long suit has always been creative problem-solving.
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Teamwork proved to be the company's long suit during the project.
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Her long suit has always been creative problem-solving.
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Public speaking is not his long suit, but he excels at writing.
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Her ability to communicate effectively is her long suit in the workplace.
Synonyms
336
2.8
A skill or quality someone has that helps them do well
205
4.3
An area of work or study that someone knows a lot about
30
4.4
A skill or area that a person is very good at
22
5.7
A skill or activity someone is very good at
19
3.4
Something a person does very well
1
9.9
A type of work or skill someone does best
A thing a person or team does especially well
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'a strong point' does not follow directly from the literal constituents: 'long' (length/large) and 'suit' (a card suit or clothing). The idiom comes from card-play (having a 'long suit' = many cards in one suit, an advantage), a historical/metaphorical link that is not obvious to a B1 learner who only knows the basic meanings, so the overall meaning is unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Long suit comes from the card idea that a suit that is long is a strength in the game because you have many cards there, so people began using long suit to mean a person's 'strong point' or 'skill'.