> as lemmas

1827 New Hampsh. Statesman & Concord Reg. 15 Dec. If twenty-four guns are fired now, and State-House windows broken, what will hinder neighbour Hill from blowing us all ‘sky high’ when the big day comes round?

1861 N.Y. Times 24 Jan. 2/4 The big day has come and passed, and the State of Alabama is no longer a member of the Union.

1911 Bradford (Pa.) Era 12 June 6/4 The real star of the ceremony is the bride. It is her big day. She is the whole show.

1932 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 38/1 Then my big day came when a curious twist of fate placed me at the controls of a specially built three-mile-a-minute Martinsyde racer.

1959 A. Ellis Let. 23 Mar. in I. L. Reiss & A. Ellis At Dawn of Sexual Revol. (2002) 109 I gather that all goes well as Harriet approaches her Big Day... There's still at least one thing that men cannot do for the human race and that we'd damned better, no doubt, leave in more capable hands!

1979 J. K. Libbey Dear Alben i. 4 He thought he could recite it [sc. the piece] forwards and backwards, but shortly before his big day arrived one of the church elders..kidded Alben by telling him that he would forget the whole thing when he stood up before the audience.

2013 Daily Tel. 18 Jan. 32/1 Bride-to-be Fernanda rehearsed her look for the big day.