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Idioms: the weather
In England, and to a lesser extent in every other Anglo-Saxon country, the weather is a much debated topic; therefore, it isn't surprising to find so many references to illustrate idioms about the weather; there are many ot them in both languages.
1) THE WEATHER:
- To be under the weather: To feel sick or unwell.
- A fair-weather friend: unreliable or absent in situations of hardship or difficulty.
2) THE WIND:
- To get wind of: to hear rumours...
- To be in the wind: to be about to occur.
- To take the wind out of one's sails: to destroy one's confidence.
- To throw caution to the wind: act recklessly.
- To whistle down the wind: abandon something.
- To be a breeze: something easily done.
3) A CLOUD/ CLOUDS:
- Every cloud has a silver lining: a possibility of hope in an unfortunate situation.
- To have one's head in the clouds: to be daydreaming.
- To be on cloud nine: to be in a state of perfect happiness.
4) RAIN:
- To save for a rainy day: saving money for hard times.
- It never rains, but it pours: several things go wrong in quick succession.
- Come rain or shine: whatever the situation.
- To take a raincheck: to decline an invitation for now.


- It's raining cats and dogs: it's raining heavily.
- It rains on somebody's parade: it spoils somebody's plans.
5) STORMS:
- calm before the storm: a quiet time before a period of trouble.
...calm before the storm!
- storm in a teacup: much ado about nothing!
- To weather the storm: to deal with a difficult situation without harm.
6) THUNDER and LIGHTNING:
- To steal somebody's thunder: to claim credit for another's idea.
- a face like thunder: an angry face.
- catch lightning in a bottle: doing something impossible.
- Lightning never strikes the same place twice:
an unusual event will not happen twice.
7) THE SNOW/ TO SNOW and ICE:
- To be snowed under with work: to be overworked.
- To be pure as the driven snow: to be as white, immaculate as snow.
- Walk on thin ice: a risky situation.
- To break the ice: to act in a friendly way, by overcoming formality.
Let's finish on an optimistic note!...
8) RAINBOWS and SUNSHINE...
- To chase rainbows: to achieve the impossible.
- Make hay while the sun shines: make the most of a favourable situation.
- To have a moment in the sun: a period of being popular or getting a lot of attention.
As I said, I suppose you've noticed that there are quite a number of these expressions...
I have arranged them to make them easier to remember...
May the FORCE be with you for the test! Go for it!



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