save the day
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
They caught up with Henry's rearguard, which was under William Marshal's command and, in William's opinion, would have overwhelmed them had not William himself saved the day.
With strategies like these for saving the day, it had to be a hardy individual indeed to do what Solly tried.
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.
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
bán chạy như tôm tươi
to sell like hot cakes
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
sell like hot cakes
Be sold quickly and in large quantities.
English · via bán chạy như tôm tươi
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “save the day” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “save the day” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“bán chạy như tôm tươi” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.