Idiom
Second nature
If something is second nature to you, you can do it easily and almost automatically, because you have done it so often.
How people use it
People use it for skills and habits that feel natural after a lot of practice: typing, driving, speaking a second language, cooking a favorite dish. The usual patterns are become second nature and be second nature to someone: After a month, the new routine became second nature. It is neutral and fits both speech and writing. It is often used to encourage learners: keep practicing, and it will become second nature. It does not mean a second personality.
Examples
- After years of practice, playing scales on the piano is second nature to Grace.
- Checking the mirrors becomes second nature once you've been driving for a while.
- Saving a little from every paycheck is second nature to my dad.
Where it comes from
The phrase goes back to an old idea, found in Greek and Roman writers such as Aristotle and Cicero, that habit is a kind of second nature: something learned can become as natural as something you were born with. A Latin saying, consuetudo est altera natura (habit is a second nature), helped spread the idea, and English writers have used second nature for centuries.
Check yourself
1. If riding a bike is second nature to you, what does that mean?
Answer: You do it easily without thinking. Second nature means something done naturally after lots of practice.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: After a year at the cafe, making lattes became second nature to Priya.. Second nature describes a skill that becomes automatic, like making lattes.
Similar idioms
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