Dictionary Home » The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms » snap out of

snap out of

snap out of idiom

Suddenly recover, as in You can't expect an entire economy to snap out of the doldrums overnight. This expression is also put as an imperative, Snap out of it! telling someone to return to his or her normal state of mind from an undesirable condition such as grief, self-pity, or depression; for example, Snap out of it, Stella; it's over and done with. [1920s]

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.