"first thing" meaning in English

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "first thing (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I'll meet you first thing at the station.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Early in the morning."
      ],
      "id": "en-first_thing-en-adv-2jwhwqol",
      "links": [
        [
          "morning",
          "morning"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "13 56 29 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 57 25 5",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Times of day",
          "orig": "en:Times of day",
          "parents": [
            "Periodic occurrences",
            "Timekeeping",
            "Time",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post",
          "text": "Some of 'em said that when a boy had been away from home a couple of years he ought to want to see his folks the first thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Alex J. Packer, Bringing Up Parents: The Teenager's Handbook",
          "text": "I'll do it first thing after school tomorrow.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cd Harper, And Face the Unknown: The Journey of a Lincoln-freed Colored",
          "text": "You had to see it first thing, 'cause it was the first thing that caught the eye.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Nelson Searcy, Jennifer Dykes Henson, The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life and Ministry, page 2013",
          "text": "Whatever it is, getting it out of the way is crucial to your forward momentum. So, to borrow a phrase from Nike, just do it—and do it first thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Straight away, very soon."
      ],
      "id": "en-first_thing-en-adv-GMQmdFRM",
      "links": [
        [
          "Straight away",
          "straight away"
        ],
        [
          "soon",
          "soon"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "first thing"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "first things",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "first thing (plural first things)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I would help you, but I don't know the first thing about gardening."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The basic idea of how to do something."
      ],
      "id": "en-first_thing-en-noun-T~Br9gs9",
      "links": [
        [
          "basic",
          "basic"
        ],
        [
          "idea",
          "idea"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see first, thing."
      ],
      "id": "en-first_thing-en-noun-2tIo~RId",
      "links": [
        [
          "first",
          "first#English"
        ],
        [
          "thing",
          "thing#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "first thing"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "en:Times of day"
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "first thing (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I'll meet you first thing at the station.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Early in the morning."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "morning",
          "morning"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post",
          "text": "Some of 'em said that when a boy had been away from home a couple of years he ought to want to see his folks the first thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Alex J. Packer, Bringing Up Parents: The Teenager's Handbook",
          "text": "I'll do it first thing after school tomorrow.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cd Harper, And Face the Unknown: The Journey of a Lincoln-freed Colored",
          "text": "You had to see it first thing, 'cause it was the first thing that caught the eye.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Nelson Searcy, Jennifer Dykes Henson, The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life and Ministry, page 2013",
          "text": "Whatever it is, getting it out of the way is crucial to your forward momentum. So, to borrow a phrase from Nike, just do it—and do it first thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Straight away, very soon."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Straight away",
          "straight away"
        ],
        [
          "soon",
          "soon"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "first thing"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "en:Times of day"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "first things",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "first thing (plural first things)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I would help you, but I don't know the first thing about gardening."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The basic idea of how to do something."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "basic",
          "basic"
        ],
        [
          "idea",
          "idea"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see first, thing."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "first",
          "first#English"
        ],
        [
          "thing",
          "thing#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "first thing"
}