have other fish to fry
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English
[edit]Verb
[edit]have other fish to fry (third-person singular simple present has other fish to fry, present participle having other fish to fry, simple past and past participle had other fish to fry)
- (idiomatic) To have more important things to do.
- c. 1710, The Journal to Stella, Jonathan Swift, ch. 2, Letter 15:
- I have other fish to fry; so good-morrow, my ladies all, good-morrow.
- 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter 20, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC:
- Your uncle will not return yet; he has other fish to fry; he will be galloping backwards and forwards from Briarfield to Stilbro' all day.
- 1905, George Bernard Shaw, chapter 15, in The Irrational Knot:
- "May I ask whether you will be persuaded to come?"
"No, for certain. I have other fish to fry here."
Translations
[edit]to have more important things to do
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