Are you feeling chilly this winter? During the winter seasons, English speakers have a lot of ways to talk about being cold or using winter vocabulary in some outrageous idioms. Add these winter idioms to your vocabulary and complain or discuss the winter season like a native speaker!
1. A Cold Snap
A cold snap is very sudden cold weather that passes as quickly as it appears. Think of snapping your fingers to mean something goes quick.
For example: This cold snap is allowing me to finally use this fireplace.
2. Bundle up
When it’s really cold outside, we encourage each other to wear more layers of clothing to beat the cold. A bundle is a word that means a tightly wrapped package which is similar to wrapping ourselves up in warm clothing.
For example: It’s going to be really cold today so make sure to bundle up with your new winter coat and boots.
3. Snowed in
In some places in the United States, it snows a lot to the point where it piles up and blocks people from leaving their houses. In this case, they are stuck in their houses by snow or snowed in.
For example: We are snowed in so we can’t go to school!
4. Put Something on Ice
This idiom doesn’t have to do with winter in any way, but we use this phrase a lot when we want to hold something or save something for later. This phrase comes from a time before there were refrigerators and we would have to put everything in or on ice to keep it fresh for later.
For example: We will put this argument on ice for now because we have to go to work.
5. Break the Ice
Break the ice comes from the term icebreaker which is an activity that helps you meet new people. Usually breaking the ice consists of ways to start a conversation with someone new.
For example: We need to break the ice, let’s talk about your favorite color!
6. Walking on Thin Ice
This idiom is used as a warning or to let someone know if they continue to do something, bad things will happen. This comes from the actual action of walking on ice because if something is too heavy or the ice is too thin, it will break and someone could get hurt or die.
For example: You didn’t finish your work this week, you are walking on thin ice with your supervisor.
7. Tip of the Iceberg
This phrase is used when we mean that something might seem small, but it could get bigger if you look closer. This comes from how you may see the tip of an iceberg at the surface of the ocean, but underneath the surface the iceberg is so much bigger.
For example: The missing homework assignment is just the tip of the iceberg of why your grade went down.
Tagged: English School in LA, English School in Los Angeles
Published on March 1, 2022
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