knight in shining armour
a person who helps out during a difficult situation
TRANSLATION
knight in shining armour = ein Retter in der Not (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX knight in shining armour: approximately 170,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Britain's last independent publishing company has been rescued by a KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR, the former chief executive of Penguin books.
(The London Independent)
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"The Government may be hoping for a KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR from the private sector to take on the bank and pay back Government loans, but this looks highly unlikely."
- Vince Cable, head of the British Liberal Democrats
(The London Independent)
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"The Government may be hoping for a KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR from the private sector to take on the bank and pay back Government loans, but this looks highly unlikely."
- Vince Cable, head of the British Liberal Democrats
Did you
know?
knight in shining armour
idiom
- someone who helps you when you are in a difficult situation
(Cambridge International Dictionary Of Idioms)
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WORD ORIGIN
As the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary says, a knight is defined as "a man given a rank of honour by a British king or queen because of his special achievements, and who has the right to be called Sir." In medieval times, a knight was "a man of high social position trained to fight as a soldier on a horse." Knights were looked upon as gentleman heroes. It is this vision of a "knight in shining armour", riding in on a horse to save the day, that gives us this figure of speech.
The "shining armour", which of course helps to paint a positive image, is the medieval equivalent of the "white hat" worn by the good guys in western movies. Which brings us to the term "white knight." In the business world, a white knight is an individual or a firm that buys or acquires a company to keep it from being taken over by an unfriendly organisation, referred to as the "black knight."
In some cases, a "white squire" becomes involved. Instead of a full buyout or a majority ownership, the white squire assumes a minority stake in a company to help prevent a hostile take over. In the days of knighthood, a squire was a young nobleman who attended the knight and was ranked right below him in the hierarchy.
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SYNONYMS
champion, deliverer, gallant, guardian, hero/heroine, idol, liberator, messiah, paladin, rescuer, saint
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I heard you worked all through the night to fix the software problem, you’re a knight in shining armour."
idiom
- someone who helps you when you are in a difficult situation
(Cambridge International Dictionary Of Idioms)
---
WORD ORIGIN
As the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary says, a knight is defined as "a man given a rank of honour by a British king or queen because of his special achievements, and who has the right to be called Sir." In medieval times, a knight was "a man of high social position trained to fight as a soldier on a horse." Knights were looked upon as gentleman heroes. It is this vision of a "knight in shining armour", riding in on a horse to save the day, that gives us this figure of speech.
The "shining armour", which of course helps to paint a positive image, is the medieval equivalent of the "white hat" worn by the good guys in western movies. Which brings us to the term "white knight." In the business world, a white knight is an individual or a firm that buys or acquires a company to keep it from being taken over by an unfriendly organisation, referred to as the "black knight."
In some cases, a "white squire" becomes involved. Instead of a full buyout or a majority ownership, the white squire assumes a minority stake in a company to help prevent a hostile take over. In the days of knighthood, a squire was a young nobleman who attended the knight and was ranked right below him in the hierarchy.
---
SYNONYMS
champion, deliverer, gallant, guardian, hero/heroine, idol, liberator, messiah, paladin, rescuer, saint
(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I heard you worked all through the night to fix the software problem, you’re a knight in shining armour."
