I’ve been saving it for a rainy day.” 10. “I’m sorry we had to take a rain check on that concert, but we can watch this movie instead. This means that Peggy is putting money in the bank, just in case some big expense comes up.Ī “rainy day” can also be when you have some extra time because things didn’t go according to plan. Saving for a rainy day means you’re trying to prepare for unexpected trouble. In the song, the “rainy day” is a love affair that ended badly. “Here’s That Rainy Day” is a well-known English song, originally from the 1950s. A rainy day is when things are going wrong. Rain is back to being unpleasant in this idiom. It’s another way of saying, “I understand the delay. If you tell someone, “I’ll take a rain check,” it means that you’re willing to wait until an event, service or product is ready for you to enjoy. Here, a “check” means a “ticket”-similar to a “hat check” or a “coat check” that you’d use to claim your hat or coat after it was hung up for you at a restaurant.Ī “rain check” would let you claim another chance to do something at a later time. Take a rain checkĪ “rain check” is not some strange, soggy form of money. This would mean that Barney is no longer feeling ill after resting. ![]() “Barney was feeling under the weather yesterday, but he got a good sleep last night. In this idiom, it means that everything is going well or that someone is feeling better. Rain isn’t always a sign of something bad. When I finally got to the empty office, I realized that it was Saturday. Then, my power went out, so I couldn’t make coffee. “First, my alarm clock didn’t go off, so I overslept. You can use this weather idiom to talk about a situation where everything seemed to go wrong: In British English, a similar idiom would be: “It never rains, but it pours.” “It pours” tells you that many bad things are happening all at once. ![]() In this idiom, “rain” refers to something bad that makes life more difficult. You can see this idiom explained in the video below: For hundreds of years, people have talked about “rains of animals.” They’ve mentioned animals such as fish, frogs, birds and snakes falling from the sky like rain. This idiom may come from strange happenings around the world. “Gary is keeping a weather eye on the stock market because he’s worried about a crash.” Rain Idioms You’re concerned that a sudden change might cause a problem. If you “keep a weather eye” on someone or something, it means that you’re worried about that person or thing. We don’t want to be surprised by a sudden storm. Because the weather changes so much, we have to watch it carefully. Keep a weather eye on someone/somethingĪ “weather eye” doesn’t mean that rain, snow or sunshine is in someone’s eye!Ī “weather eye” is a close watch. This means that Fred will overcome whatever problems he has. “Fred is going through a hard time right now, but he’ll weather the storm.” Put it together, and this idiom means to survive a difficult challenge. In the idiom “weather the storm,” the word “weather” means “to get through” or “to survive.” “The storm” in this phrase could be any difficult time or challenge. “Weather” can also be a verb (action word), though. When we say “weather” in English, we’re usually talking about how hot or cold it is outside, or whether it’s rainy, snowy, windy or sunny. The minute something bad happens, a fair-weather friend will suddenly have other plans. It’s perfect for having fun, especially outdoors.Ī “fair-weather friend” is someone who’s only around when things are going well-when you’re having fun, in a good mood or have money to spend. Over time, even people on dry land started using “under the weather” to mean feeling ill.Ĭheck out the phrase in more detail in this video: ![]() In other words, they would be “under the weather bow.” Sailors would go below deck so they wouldn’t get seasick. The “weather bow” was the part of a ship that was getting hit with bad weather, such as heavy rain or storms. ![]() The term originally came from the phrase “under the weather bow.” (In this phrase, “bow” rhymes with “cow.”) If you’re feeling “under the weather,” it means that you don’t feel well. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. In this post, we’re going to learn how to use English weather idioms to talk up a storm (talk a lot) about different topics. These are idioms that aren’t actually about the weather at all, so don’t take them literally! In English, talking about the weather is a common small talk topic.īut you might hear someone say that they’re “feeling under the weather” or they want to “take a rain check.” Septem40 English Weather Idioms That Make Speaking English a Breeze
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