on the rebound

on the rebound idiom
Reacting to or recovering from an unhappy experience, especially the end of a love affair. For example, A month after breaking up with Larry, Jane got engaged to Bob, a classic case of being on the rebound. This metaphoric term, alluding to the bouncing back of a ball, has been used in the present sense since the mid-1800s, although rebound alone had been used figuratively for much longer.

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.

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