on everyone's lips
1
5.1
- idiom
:
en boca de todos
- It's the song on everyone's lips and in everyone's hearts.
- a question on everyone's lips
- a word on everyone's lips
Examples
-
If nothing else, that terrorism, the word on everyone's lips, is easier to talk about than to define.
Academic text (2002) -
The question on everyone's lips, of course, is whether Sinofsky left on his own accord or if he was fired.
Blog text (12) -
The question on everyone's lips these days.
-
In the wake of the Mother's Day shooting, public safety was on everyone's lips.
Academic text (2018) -
Guns, so that the name of El Guapo will be hanging on everyone's lips.
-
The urgency of global warming is on everyone's lips.
Blog text (29) -
"Peace" was on everyone's lips as they shook hands or hugged each other.
Fiction book (1993) -
But the little moment that's on everyone's lips right now is me and Vicki and Untucked.
-
The latest viral video is on everyone's lips this week.
-
Sustainability is on everyone's lips as we approach the climate summit.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Liked or admired by many people
24
5.5
Very popular and fashionable at a certain time
12
5.5
Getting a lot of public attention
8
4.0
Something or someone that everyone in a place talks about
1
3.8
A thing that many people see and share online very quickly
Something many people think and talk about
Antonyms
How Popular
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally evokes something being 'on' people's lips — i.e. in their mouths — which readily suggests it is being talked about; a learner who knows 'on', 'everyone', and 'lip' can infer this speech-related metaphor. This metaphorical mapping (speech = lips/mouth) is common cross-linguistically, so the meaning 'widely discussed / very popular' is likely recoverable by a B1 learner.
Etymology
On everyone's lips paints a simple picture: people talk about something so much it seems to sit on their lips, ready to be said. That's why it means 'widely discussed' or 'very popular'.