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"Once a …, always a …" gives the straightforward meaning that things will always be that way.

"Tim was arrested again for shoplifting; once a thief, always a thief."

When my son was about four years old, he frightened a dog by accidentally stepping on it. The frightened animal scratched my son. Now my son still feels uncomfortable whenever a dog approaches him. It must have been an incident similar to this one that was the origin of the saying, "once bitten, twice shy", meaning that someone is frightened to do something again because they had an unpleasant experience doing that activity before.

"Sarah did not have a happy relationship with her ex. It is understandable that she is not interested in having a new man in her life; once bitten, twice shy."

Next is a phrasal verb used in informal situations that describes an action in which someone takes a quick look or inspects something: to give someone or something a "once-over".

 "Mummy, can you check if I spelt these words correctly?"

"I am very busy, darling, but I'll give them a once-over before going to bed."

The following three expressions show the different frequency of an action; all are less than "often". Let's start with the lowest frequency: "once in a blue moon".

A blue moon is the second full moon in one month. How often do you see two full moons in one month? This expression indicates that something very rarely happens.

"How's Jack doing lately?"

"I really don't know. I see him once in a blue moon."

"My in-laws are frail and live very far away and my husband is very busy with his business, so our kids don't get to see their grandparents much; only once in a blue moon, I would say."

But if my children see their grandparents "once in while", they meet them sometimes but still not very often.

"We dine out in an expensive restaurant once in a while."

And for things that happen "once or twice", they happen a few times.

"Jim went to Europe one or twice; he enjoys it very much."

The last two items are interesting in that they are similar but different. For the first one, "once-in-a-lifetime", by hyphenating the words, it turns into an adjective describing an experience or opportunity that is very special.

"A chance to meet the Dalai Lama is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

If not hyphenated, the phrase "once in a lifetime" functions as an adverbial phrase to say that something is only likely to ever happen once.

"The chance of seeing Haley's comet is just once in a lifetime, since it passes Earth only every 75-76 years."

Complete the sentences using the expressions explained.

1. I really don't know if Drake is still working here; he only comes into the office … .

2. Nicky said she did not want to go through that horrendous process again; … .

3. "How is the new shopping mall in town? Have you been there?"

"I went there … and it was always very busy.

4. Meena wrote to say thank you for your sponsorship of her trip to Egypt and that it was a … experience for her.

5. "What shall I do with this drafted contract?"

"Leave it on my table; I'll give it a … this afternoon."

6. … I manage to escape my daily chores and have a body massage.

Answers: 1. once in a blue moon, 2. once bitten, twice shy, 3. once or twice, 4. once-in-a-lifetime, 5. once-over, 6. Once in a while

By Parnsap Yomanage