Twenty Idioms about Nature

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Last Friday was the first day of spring. All over the country, leaves are turning green, blossom is blooming, and flowers are pushing their way up out of the ground – it’s no wonder nature has inspired many an English expression!

Here are twenty idioms about plants, flowers, and trees:

“Oops-a-daisy!” – an expression of encouragement said to a child who has fallen/has hurt him or herself, an expression of mild annoyance used when something has gone wrong
a late bloomer – someone who is slower than their peers to develop in a particular field
a needle in a haystack – something that is difficult/impossible to find because it is hidden among many other things
a shrinking violet – a (comically) shy person
as fresh as a daisy – healthy, energetic, youthful
flowery – a word used to describe speech, writing, or language that uses elaborate (but not necessarily effective) literary words or devices
grass roots – at the most basic level of an organisation
out of the woods – out of danger
pushing up the daisies – dead and buried
the grass is always greener on the other side – other people’s situations always seem superior to one’s own
to bark up the wrong tree – to follow the wrong line of thought, to make a false assumption or mistake, to completely misunderstand something
to beat about the bush – to approach or discuss a matter without directly getting to the point, to put off getting to the point in a conversation
to come up (smelling) roses – to emerge from a situation in a favourable manner
to have green fingers/a green thumb – to have gardening skills
to hit the hay – to go to bed
to hold out an olive branch – to offer a reconciliation
to lead someone up the garden path – to deceive someone by giving them misleading information/clues
to let something go/run to seed – to neglect something, to let something deteriorate
to let the grass grow under your feet – to delay in taking an action/opportunity
to nip something in the bud – to put an end to something before it has the chance to grow out of hand and into a problem (or metaphorical weed)

If you’ve found this post useful, why not check out our other articles on idioms?

Twenty Idioms for New Beginnings
Sixty Clothing Idioms – Part One and Part Two
Thirty Colourful Idioms
Thirty Scary Idioms for Halloween
Twenty Five Idioms about Time
Thirty Five Idioms about Money
Fifty Idioms about the Human Body – Part One and Part Two
Thirty Idioms about Food
Fifty Animal Idioms and What They Mean
Fifty Atmosphere and Weather Idioms and What They Mean – Part One and Part Two
Thirty Sports Idioms to Help You Through the Summer
Two Idioms That Originate in America

Are there any idioms you’d like to know the meanings or origins of? Let us know on Facebook orTwitter and we’ll include them in a future blog.

Have a good week!

23 Mar 2015
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Twenty Idioms about Nature

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