“Take a leaf out of someone’s book”
LearningDefinition
To copy someone’s good behavior or successful approach.
Examples
Examples
1 / 2“I took a leaf out of her book and began planning my week on Sundays.”
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Rewrite this example in plain English without the idiom. Preserve who is speaking, the time and the meaning.
I took a leaf out of her book and began planning my week on Sundays.Compare with the original example
I took a leaf out of her book and began planning my week on Sundays.
Write a two-line conversation using “Take a leaf out of someone’s book”. Make the situation clear enough that a reader can infer the meaning. Then replace the idiom with a plain-English explanation: does your conversation still mean the same thing?
Check the expression in a dictionaryFrequently asked questions
- What does "Take a leaf out of someone’s book" mean?
- "Take a leaf out of someone’s book" means to copy someone’s good behavior or successful approach.
- How do you use "Take a leaf out of someone’s book" in a sentence?
- Example: "I took a leaf out of her book and began planning my week on Sundays."
- Should I interpret "Take a leaf out of someone’s book" word for word?
- Understand the expression as a whole. Use the definition and example to learn its meaning rather than translating each word separately.