Fear is a universal emotion, and it has inspired many expressions in the English language. These phrases, known as idioms, use the word “fear” or convey the theme of fear in unique ways. In this post, we will explore some common fear idioms, explaining their meanings and showing how they can be used in everyday language.
Fear Idioms
Here are 20 fear idioms in English.
1. Shake in one’s boots
Meaning: To be very frightened
Example: He was shaking in his boots during the storm.
2. Scared stiff
Meaning: Extremely scared
Example: I was scared stiff by that noise.
3. Fear the worst
Meaning: Expect a bad outcome
Example: She feared the worst when he didn’t call.
4. Cold feet
Meaning: To hesitate because of fear
Example: He got cold feet before the speech.
5. Fraidy-cat
Meaning: A person who is easily scared
Example: Don’t be such a fraidy-cat!
6. Scared out of one’s wits
Meaning: Terrified or extremely scared
Example: The haunted house scared me out of my wits.
7. Jump out of one’s skin
Meaning: Get scared suddenly
Example: I jumped out of my skin when I heard the scream.
8. Scare the daylights out of someone
Meaning: To frighten someone severely
Example: That prank scared the daylights out of me.
9. Scare the pants off
Meaning: To frighten someone a lot
Example: That story scared the pants off me.
10. Scare tactics
Meaning: Methods used to frighten someone
Example: They used scare tactics during the interrogation.
11. Scared to death
Meaning: Extremely frightened
Example: She was scared to death of the dark.
12. Shivers down one’s spine
Meaning: A feeling of fear or disgust
Example: That ghost story sent shivers down my spine.
13. A deer in headlights
Meaning: Too scared to move or react
Example: He was like a deer in headlights during the interview.
14. Chicken out
Meaning: To decide not to do something out of fear
Example: He chickened out of the dare.
15. Panic button
Meaning: An overreaction to fear or stress
Example: She hit the panic button when she lost her keys.
16. No guts, no glory
Meaning: You can’t achieve anything without taking risks
Example: He decided to face his fear; no guts, no glory.
17. Heart in one’s mouth
Meaning: Very nervous or scared
Example: My heart was in my mouth during the climb.
18. Quaking in one’s boots
Meaning: Trembling with fear
Example: She was quaking in her boots before the performance.
19. Lose one’s nerve
Meaning: Lose courage to do something
Example: He lost his nerve at the last moment.
20. Bite the bullet
Meaning: To endure a painful experience bravely
Example: He bit the bullet and went to the dentist.
