Have you ever heard someone talking about swinging from the chandelier? Outside the popular Sia’s song? If you’ve not, you definitely should start using this cool idiom.
If you have and you wonder what it means, you have found the right source for correct answers. This article is here to elucidate on the idiom and how it’s used.
There are also 10 similar idioms you may want to infuse into your daily conversation.
Meaning of Swinging from the chandelier
When you hear ‘swing from the chandelier’, what do you think it means? It is quite hard if not impossible to guess but the ‘Chandelier’ song by Sia should give us an idea of what the idiom refers to.
When you say you have been swinging from the chandelier, you mean you have been going crazy at a party. It may mean you are having crazy fun with someone.
There is also an unpopular and sexual meaning for this idiom. It refers to eager intercourse between two people.
Origin of Swinging from the chandelier
This idiom was made popular by the hit song by ‘Sia’ titled ‘Chandelier’. The song talks about a woman who is drinking a lot of alcohol and having fun like there is no tomorrow.
However, the idiom is believed to have been in existence before then, though unpopular.
The idiom refers to how wild parties and orgies often go. It is more like a metaphor saying a party was so wild that people were swinging from chandeliers.
This doesn’t mean anyone was swinging from a chandelier. It is an exaggeration. It is believed to be the highest level of fun and that is how the meaning was coined.
The second sensual meaning of this idiom however may actually refer to a person swinging from a chandelier.
It was coined from a BDSM style of sensual intercourse in which a lady is made to swing from a roof while two men penetrate her.
When this is used in a sentence, it doesn’t necessarily mean the girl is being swung like a chandelier. It may simply mean two people are doing it eagerly.
10 Ways To Use Swinging from the chandelier in a sentence
They’ve been swinging from the chandeliers since we got here
This means: The people have been partying hard since we got here
If I were with her, I’m sure I will be swinging from the chandeliers
This means; if I were with you here, I’m sure I will be having so much fun.
The party was fun but we didn’t swing from the chandelier
This means; The party was fun but not as amazing as one would have loved it.
Tom and Greg are giving the call girl the swinging chandelier
This means; Tom and Greg are having BDSM intercourse called ‘swinging chandelier’ with a call girl.
The couple is so noisy when they swing from the chandelier
This means; The couple makes so much noise when they have rough intercourse.
We had fun as friends but we didn’t swing from the chandelier
This means; We had a good time when we were friends but we didn’t have the most amazing time together.
He makes me want to swing from the chandelier
This means; He makes me want to have so much fun.
We will swing from the chandelier together
This means; We will have so much fun together.
There was so much alcohol that we were almost swinging from the chandelier
This means; there was a lot of alcohol and we were almost going crazy.
We almost broke the bed swinging from the chandelier
This means; we broke the bed while having rough sensual intercourse.
10 Similar idioms to Swinging from the chandelier
- A few bulbs less of a chandelier
- Paint the town red
- Dancing on the ceiling
- Feed the geese
- Crash the party
- The more the merrier
- Swinging for the fences
- Riding the flagpole
- Bashing the bishop
- Bareback
A few bulbs less of a chandelier
This idiom doesn’t have the same meaning as ‘Swinging from the chandelier’. The only thing the two idioms have in common is ‘Chandelier’.
When you hear this idiom, what comes to your mind? ‘A few bulbs short of a chandelier’ is an adjectival phrase that is used to refer to a dim-witted person. It is like saying he or she is just a little bit away from wisdom.
You can say ‘Adam is a few bulbs short of a chandelier’. You are simply implying that Adam is not smart enough.
Paint the town red
This does not have a ‘chandelier’ in it but it has other similarities with ‘swinging from the chandelier’. It also has to do with partying.
While this idiom is not one whose meaning is easy to guess, virtually everyone should already know what it means. This is because it is a very popular idiom and you must have heard it from somewhere.
When a person paints the town red, he or she has so much fun, usually at a party. When you paint the town red, everyone sees it clearly.
Saying a person is painting the town red means people will feel his or her presence as the fun continues. It also usually involves a lot of alcohol.
Dancing on the ceiling
This sounds just as absurd as swinging from the chandelier. Why would you swing from the chandelier? Why also would you dance on the ceiling?
These two idioms are not only similarly absurd but they have the same meaning also.
When you say a person is dancing on the ceiling, you are implying that he or she is having so much fun at the party and almost dancing on the ceiling.
You can say a party was so much fun and people were dancing on the ceiling. This is simply an exaggeration of how the party went but people were going crazy at the party.
Feed the geese
This is similar to ‘swinging from the chandelier’ but not so much. They don’t have the same meaning and cannot be used in the same context. Both phrases have sensual meanings.
While swinging from a chandelier refers to rough intercourse, feeding the geese means a person is masturbating. It is usually referring to a male.
Crash the party
This is on this list because it also refers to parties. ‘Crash the party’ is not intended literally. When a person crashes a party, it doesn’t mean he or she is doing harm at the party.
This idiom is slightly popular so you may already know what it means. If you don’t already know its meaning, then you may have an idea of it.
‘Crash the party’ means attending a party. However, you are not just attending the party. You were not invited to the party.
When you crash a party, you are going to a gathering you are not invited to and hoping you will be allowed to join.
Some people don’t allow others to crash their parties while some people just don’t care about it.
The more the merrier
This also refers to parties so it has its spot on this list. This idiom is also well-known so you may have heard it from someone if you’ve never used it yourself.
If you don’t know the meaning already, you should be able to guess correctly.
‘The more the merrier’ is a response you may get if you ask permission to invite a person to a party and the owner of the party doesn’t mind.
The saying is used to mean ‘many people can have more fun together’. It means there will be more fun in going with a large group and this is often true.
When a person gives this response to your request to tag along, it simply means he or she agrees with the idea of you coming.
Swinging for the fences
This idiom has no similarity in meaning with ‘swinging from the chandelier’ but it is here because something is swinging.
It has a totally different meaning which may be impossible to guess. However, you can give it a try.
‘Swinging for the fences’ refer to a person’s aims. When you say a person is swinging from the fences, you are implying that he or she is chasing big goals and ambitions.
It doesn’t mean the goals are impossible to achieve but they are considered big.
Riding the flagpole
This idiom is similar to the second meaning of ‘swinging from the chandelier’. It has nothing to do with partying or having fun. It simply refers to heterosexual intercourse.
It refers to sensual intercourse between a man and a woman or any two genders if you know any other gender.
When you say that two persons are riding the flagpole, they are making love. When you say that a person is riding the flagpole, it implies that he or she is making love with someone of the opposite gender.
Bashing the bishop
Here is another idiom that has a close meaning to ‘swinging the chandelier’. It has nothing to do with partying and fun but it has a lot to do with sensual intercourse, at least the sensual pleasure in it.
It has the same meaning as ‘Feeding the geese’. When you say a person is bashing the bishop, you are implying that he or she is masturbating. It really has nothing to do with bishops and no one is bashing anyone.
Bareback
This word has a sensual meaning like ‘swinging from the chandelier’. It has two meanings and they are both sensual.
When you say two people are making love bareback, it may mean that they are not using condoms. It may also mean sodomy.