open the ball en · VERB
Etymology
In reference to the start of dancing at a ball.
Meanings
-
To begin operations; to set things in motion.
This is "commencement week" in "over-the-counter insurance" circles, the Whitman, Mass., savings bank having opened the ball with four applications made for $300 each by three prominent business men […]
1908, The Standard, volume 62, page 553:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| opening the ball | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| opened the ball | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| opened the ball | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| opens the ball | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Translations (6)
pl rozpocząć (begin operations) · fr ouvrir la danse (begin operations) · fi aloittaa (begin operations) · fr ouvrir le bal (begin operations) · pl rozpoczynać (begin operations) · fi pistää pyörät pyörimään (begin operations)