Idioms Related to Winter 

Idioms Related to Winter 

Winter has always inspired vivid language in English — from icy weather to emotional distance and difficult situations. Many everyday expressions use winter imagery to describe work, relationships, risk, and effort. In this lesson, you’ll learn common winter-related idioms, their meanings, and clear example sentences so you can recognise and use them naturally in conversation, writing, and exams.

Blanket of snow

Meaning: a thick covering of snow.

• When I looked through the window this morning, I could see a blanket of snow everywhere.
• The river was frozen under the thick blanket of snow. 

Break the ice

Meaning: refers to a small talk situation where you say something to make the conversation flow more easily.

• Mark tried to break the ice by talking about sports.
• The best way to break the ice at parties is by interacting with others.

 

Bundle up

Meaning: to put on some warm clothes or wrap someone in warm clothes.

• It’s freezing cold outside, you’d better bundle up well.
• When I was little, my mum would bundle me up when it was cold.

Catch your death (of cold)

Meaning: to catch a very bad cold.

• If you go to school in that jacket, you’ll catch your death of cold.
• I was standing in the rain for half an hour. I thought I would catch my death.

Dead of winter

Meaning: the coldest part of winter. 

• It was the dead of winter, and snow and ice covered everything.
• This plant can flourish even in the dead of winter.

Leave someone out in the cold

Meaning: to exclude someone from the group or ignore them.

• After he’d broken up with his girlfriend, Mike felt left out in the cold by his friends.
• The farmers were left out in the cold when the new law came into effect.

Put/keep something on ice

Meaning: to postpone something.

• His plan to buy a new car was put on ice because he was short on funds.
• She kept her career on ice while her son was a baby.

Snowed under

Meaning: having a lot of work or some other things to do.

• Simon was completely snowed under with work. 
• When they first opened the online shop, they were snowed under with orders in the first month.

The tip of the iceberg

Meaning: refers to a small part of a problem which is actually much bigger.

• Some scientists believe that the Coronavirus is just the tip of the iceberg.
• Dealing with her husband’s drinking problem was just the tip of the iceberg. The problem was much bigger.

Walking/skating on thin ice

Meaning: to be doing something dangerous or risky.

• He didn’t know he was walking on thin ice when he lied to his boss.
• You are skating on thin ice by being late for work so frequently.

When hell freezes over

Meaning: never.

• If you continue getting up at noon, you’ll graduate from college when hell freezes over.
• You can beg me until hell freezes over, but I still refuse to lend you my car.

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