Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

little engine that could (the)

a reference to a children's story about an engine that tried even when he didn't think he could succeed

Etymology:

  • The Little Engine That Could is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" (copied from Wikipedia)
4 Views
“

You can do it. Even if it doesn't seem like you can beat the other team, just be like the little engine that could.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted by TriplePurple on May 28, 2024

Translation

Find a translation for the little engine that could (the) phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to little engine that could (the)

cry like a little girllittle pitchers have big earshow much wood would a woodchuck chuck i…engine roompoor little rich girlhe could be her fatherlittle did [they] know/realize/imagineonly Nixon could go to Chinalittle pitcheremploy a steam engine to crack a nutone could be someone's parentlittle womanlittle oldgreat oaks from little acorns grow

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this little engine that could (the) phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this little engine that could (the) definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "little engine that could (the)." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/little-engine-that-could-(the)_64303>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    You're choosing to sit on the _______ if you don't pick a side.
    A fence
    B stairs
    C horse
    D bank

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ