Happy Halloween! During this time when people are dressing up as their favourite fictional characters and trick-or-treating around town, take this opportunity to brush up on some spooky idioms.
1. Dig one’s own grave
Meaning: to seriously harm yourself; to cause your own ruin or downfall
Example: If Sam ignores the teacher’s advice, he’ll be digging his own grave.
2. Ghost town
Meaning: a town permanently abandoned by its inhabitants. People have usually left because there are no more jobs to be found in the area.
Example: When the mine outside our town closed 20 years ago, people began leaving in search of work elsewhere, turning it into a ghost town.
3. Death-trap
Meaning: a structure or situation that is potentially very dangerous to life
Example: The factory was a deathtrap as it did not have enough exits for the workers to use in case of a fire.
4. Give up the ghost
Meaning: to stop trying to do something because you no longer believe you can do it successfully; to die or expire
Example: Our old television has finally given up the ghost after 10 years.
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5. Graveyard shift
Meaning: a work shift that usually begins at about midnight and continues for about eight hours through the early morning
Example: He paid his university tuition by working the graveyard shift as a hospital cleaner.
6. Like a bat out of hell
Meaning: describes something that is moving extremely fast
Example: Because she was late for her appointment, she raced down the street like a bat out of hell.
7. Night owl
Meaning: a person who often stays up late at night
Example: My sister is a night owl because she prefers working when our flat is silent.
8. Over my dead body
Meaning: in no way; under no circumstances
Example: You want to get a tattoo on your face? Over my dead body!
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9. Scaredy-cat
Meaning: a timid, easily frightened person
Example: He won’t go into the haunted house because he is a scaredy-cat.
10. Smell a rat
Meaning: to sense foul play
Example: They claim they will honour the terms of the contract, but I smell a rat.
Here’s a phrase in Cantonese slang ...
古靈精怪 gu2 ling4 zing1 gwaai3 (gu-ling-jing-guai): “ancient spirit strange”
Meaning: having or characterised by quirky and mischievous traits
In English: quirky; mischievous
Example: Her head is full of gu-ling-jing-guai ideas that are perfect for helping us brainstorm interesting activities we can do for the party.
