– This is just the tip of the iceberg!
– It was basically a snowball effect.
Do you know these English expressions? How about other winter-themed sayings?
English sayings and idioms are an important part of both spoken and written language. Idioms are expressions that figuratively describe something and whose original uses have sometimes changed to mean something else.
All of the intricacies of language cannot be understood simply through the meanings of individual words – a combination of words can mean something totally else. That is why fixed idioms and their uses need to be learned by heart. That can seem burdensome, but learning sayings is fun, especially when you learn their meanings and compare them to your own language!
Idioms cannot always be translated directly into other languages. You will understand their meanings best when you learn to recognise different kinds of sayings and to notice the contexts they are used in speech or in text.
Whether the ground is white or not, we will now dress warmly and take a dive into winter-related expressions. Expand your English skills by memorising these sayings and idioms and amaze people by using them in conversation!
the tip of the iceberg – you can see only a small part of something you are observing
to get cold feet – to chicken out, to get stage fright
a cold comfort – something that comforts you barely or not at all
to be left out in the cold – to be ignored or excluded
to walk on thin ice – to do something very risky
a cold snap – brief cold weather
to break the ice – to lighten the atmosphere, to start a conversation
snowball effect – An event or phenomenon grows faster and faster in size – like a snowball rolling down a hill.
to put something on ice – to delay, temporarily suspend
to be snowed under – to get lost in something, for example in tasks at work
as pure as driven snow – innocent, very pure
to freeze someone out – to smoke or force someone out
to be snowbound – having to stay indoors due to snowfall, or being otherwise restricted by the amount of snow
in the dead of winter – No, this doesn’t mean the end of winter but rather the coldest and darkest part of winter.
to give someone the cold shoulder – to ignore or treat someone unfriendly on purpose
like a snowball’s chance in hell – very low probability
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