"Baby, it's cold outside..."
This is not only the time of year for magical Christmas wonders, but also for chilly mornings, crisp wind, wool gloves, and... hot chocolate! Now winter is fully upon us. Aside from our unique local Christmas traditions - let it be chilling on a Caribbean island or sipping hot tea by a cosy fire in the mountains after building snowmen outside - depending on where you are located, what do you associate with winter?
How does winter-related terminology appear in your everyday language? We often use winter idioms without realizing it, even in the midst of a scorching summer spell.
When you bump into an idiom in English or in any other langue, stop for a minute and try to explore the logic behind the phrase. Joining the dots can help you immensely to use a foreign language effectively in day-to-day conversations.
8 winter idioms to use in daily conversations
1. Snowball effect
a situation in which one action or event causes many other similar actions or events
His fincancial decision will have a snowball effect on the whole company.
The city hopes that these improvements will have a snowball effect and spur private investment in the community.
Once the video game hit the market, word of mouth caused a snowball effect that made it the most popular and top grossing game of all time.
2. When hell freezes over
used when one thinks that something will never happen
I'll apologize to him when hell freezes over.
Bob, our family will relinquish control of this company to you when hell freezes over.
We'll keep searching for the missing hikers until we find them or until hell freezes over.
3. Walking on thin ice
= skating/treading on thin ice
in a risky or uncertain situation
If you keep arriving late to work, soon you’ll be walking on thin ice.
You're skating on thin ice, the teacher warned the child after he was disruptive in class.
The threat of AI and automation has left many employees feeling like their jobs are on thin ice.
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4. The tip of the iceberg
a small, noticeable part of a much larger and unknown problem
The plastic that has been cleaned from the shore is just the tip of the iceberg.
The threat of AI and automation has left many employees feeling like their jobs are on thin ice.
We get about 2,000 complaints every year but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more people just suffer in silence.
5. In cold blood
= coldheartedly, mercilessly
without feeling or mercy; ruthlessly
Unarmed civilians were shot in cold blood.
The crime had been committed in cold blood.
One young lady was shot dead in cold blood inside the premises of the shopping complex.
6. Take a chill pill
to calm down, to relax
Take a chill pill, will you? Panicking about your exam won't help.
Daren was so scared and stressed out on the plane back home, so I yelled at him “Take a chill pill, you're freaking everybody out”.
Then we take a chill pill for a second and we just listen.
7. To be snowed under (with)
to have more work or things to do than you can deal with
I'm absolutely snowed under with work at the moment.
Don't expect any help from them -- they're snowed under at the moment.
Since the hurricane, builders and roofers have been snowed under with work.
8. Sell ice to Eskimos
= selling snow to an Eskimo
to persuade those who have no need for something to buy it
He is a kind of guy who could sell ice to Eskimos, so don't get sucked into any of his sales pitches.
He's such a smooth talker, he could sell ice to Eskimos.
I can't believe you were able to sell an extra 200 units to companies. You could sell snow to Eskimos!
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