English · Idiom Historical

to be in the groove

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To be in the right mood, tojbe d9ing something successfully. A phrase- originating from the accurate reproduction of music by a needle set in the grooves of a gramo- phone record.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to be in the groove” mean?

To be in the right mood, tojbe d9ing something successfully. A phrase- originating from the accurate reproduction of music by a needle set in the grooves of a gramo- phone record.

Is “to be in the groove” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time