hark
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
Related to hark: hark back
hark at (someone)
Used to emphasize that someone else has done or said something stupid or silly. Primarily heard in UK. Hark at him, telling me what to do when his own life is a mess. A: "Hey, Paul, listen to this! I've got a great idea to get rich!" B: "Hark at you, back again with another ridiculous scheme!" Hark at you, talking back to your mother like that. Enjoy your scolding!
See also: hark
hark who's talking
The person who just spoke is guilty of the same thing they have just criticized. A: "Kathy never pays attention in class." B: "Hark who's talking! Just today I saw you reading a magazine during the lecture." Oh, I spend too much money on takeout? Hark who's talking—you never cook! Hark who's talking! How can you criticize my grades when you never got A's yourself?
hark(en) back to (something)
1. To cause one to think of or recall something. (The spelling "harken" is actually a variant of the archaic word "hearken," which originally meant "to listen" but is more commonly used in place of "hark" in this idiomatic phrase.) That song harkens back to an earlier time in my life. The diner is clearly trying to harken back to the aesthetics of the early 1950s. What is this? I'm looking for a modern logo, not one that totally harks back to the '70s.
2. To have originated or begun as something. You know, our modern cell phones hark back to those old rotary phones you like to make fun of. Don't scoff at our pixelated Oregon Trail—what do think your modern computer games hark back to? Fashion is cyclical. The clothes teens were wearing in the '90s harkened back to clothes teens were wearing in the '70s.
3. To revisit or recall something mentioned earlier. Before we get too upset, let's all harken back to the real reason we're here today. Can we please not hark back to last Thanksgiving and the fight between Mom and Aunt Mary? Wait, doesn't that later scene in the bakery hearken back to their meet-cute in the bakery?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
hark(en) back to something
1. to have originated as something; to have started out as something. (Harken is an older word meaning "pay heed to.") The word icebox harks back to refrigerators that were cooled by ice. Our modern breakfast cereals hark back to the porridge and gruel of our ancestors.
2. to remind one of something. Seeing a horse and buggy in the park harks back to the time when horses drew milk wagons. Sally says it harkens back to the time when everything was delivered by horse-drawn wagons.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
hark back
Return to a previous point, as in Let us hark back briefly to my first statement. This expression originally alluded to hounds retracing their course when they have lost their quarry's scent. It may be dying out. [First half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hark who's talking
orlook who's talking
People say Hark who's talking! or Look who's talking! to mean that something critical that someone has just said about someone else is true of them too. Hark who's talking! If you were so honest, we wouldn't be in this mess. `They're all mad.' `Look who's talking, you crazy old bat!'
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012