one for the book
- idiom
- Informal
:
para recordar
- When the power went out during the wedding, it became one for the book.
Examples
-
That performance was one for the book!
-
This trip to Paris is definitely one for the book.
-
Our victory last night was truly one for the book.
-
That surprise party was definitely one for the book.
-
Our victory last night was truly one for the book.
-
That surprise party was definitely one for the book.
-
When the power went out during the wedding, it became one for the book.
Synonyms
181
3.5
Worth remembering because it is very good, interesting, or unusual
58
3.4
Very strong or special so you remember it for a long time
2
7.2
A moment that people remember and talk about for a long time
An event that is so special people remember it for a long time
How Memorable
501
3.9
58
3.4
- Informal
37
4.2
683
1.0
16
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally reads as 'one [event] for the book,' so a learner who knows 'one', 'for' and 'book' could infer a sense of something being worthy of record — there is a transparent compositional logic. However, the conventionalized meaning 'especially memorable/noteworthy' relies on idiomatic use (often as 'one for the books') and cultural knowledge that 'book' here means a record of notable events, so a B1 learner may not reliably derive the exact sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
One for the book comes from the image of a special book where people wrote down great or unusual events, so something very memorable was the 'one' you would add to that book. That's why the phrase means 'worth remembering'.