away with the fairies
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Teasing by schoolmates and pressure from social workers has, in the eyes of Dr Reid and Mr Fenton, ensured that the child, who can only be referred to as OW, is ‘ away with the fairies’.
Tom was away with the fairies for a while when he woke up after his surgery.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “away with the fairies” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “away with the fairies” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.