first thing

1. Before anything else; without delay. For example, Tom was supposed to call him first thing in the morning. [Late 1500s] Also see under first and foremost; first off.

Example Sentences

“The first time I walked into his personal recording studio, the first thing I noticed was a huge print of ‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ our 1935 classic, hanging on the wall.

From Los Angeles Times

Millar: The first thing you see of Slurp is this gloved hand coming out of the ground.

From Los Angeles Times

“When we came onto the project, the first thing Ben mentioned was what would humans do if we built a community on Mars,” Kitawaki said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Starting first thing in the morning, talk about the stench. Then you call the state and nothing happens,” Dermish said.

From Salon

“The first thing we thought of when the fires happened was ‘What can we do to help?’

From Los Angeles Times