then and there
45
3.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
ahí mismo
- The police could arrest you right then and there and take you to jail.
- right then and there
The police could arrest you right then and there and take you to jail.
- The police could arrest you right then and there and take you to jail.
- He spoke to everyone and I knew right then and there I'm home.
- And then right then and there, right behind that, the iPhone came out.
- Sorry, you might as well kill the pig right then and there.
- They're the one who can assess the battlefield, make decisions right then and there.
- He goes my first wish will be I want all the money in the world and then right then and there boom all the money in the world just appears.
- I wanted results right then and there and I wanted and I wanted to know what my future was and.
- So it's it's another there's two things that happened that could have ended my career as a spy right then and there.
- So obviously all this stuff is going to be linked down below, but I flip it to photo or whatever and then and there you go.
Examples
-
I decided right then and there to give this life the benefit of the doubt.
Fiction book (1992) -
And I vowed then and there I'd never run for a plane again, and I never have.
-
And I knew right then and there, she was the one for me and me for her.
-
I made up my mind then and there that I was through with both of them.
Fiction book (1990) -
I decided then and there to take my mother's advice.
-
The gang was so enlivened by this news that they decided then and there to have a party.
Fiction book (1998) -
He spoke to everyone and I knew right then and there I'm home.
-
I decided then and there to follow my dreams without any hesitation.
-
She made a promise to herself then and there to never give up.
-
After hearing the news, he knew then and there that he had to take action.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At once without waiting
960
1.0
Without any delay
344
1.0
Immediately without delay
330
1.0
Right away without any delay
121
2.8
Immediately at the exact place where something happens, often needing a quick response
25
5.6
Happen at once without delay
7
3.2
Without delay after something happens
Right after something happens
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'immediately or at that exact moment' is directly compositional from 'then' (at that time) + 'and' (joining) + 'there' (at that place): together they indicate the same time and place, implying immediacy. This simple temporal+locative coordination is common across languages and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase then and there comes from the simple image of doing something at the exact time and place: then (that time) and there (that place). That's why it means 'immediately' or 'at that exact moment'.