be afraid of one's own shadow
Meaning: To be very timid and easily frightened.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Our new puppy is afraid of his own shadow.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: A creature startled by its own shadow jumps at nothing. The phrase is recorded in English from the 16th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Hebrew: לאכול סרטים (Le'ekhol sratim) — literally: To eat films
- Chinese: 杯弓蛇影 (bēi gōng shé yǐng) — literally: Bow in the cup, snake in the reflection
More idioms — Daily Life
- a blessing in disguise — Something that seems bad at first but turns out well.
- when in Rome, do as the Romans do — Follow local customs when visiting a place.
- cut your coat according to your cloth — Live within your means.
- a guilty conscience needs no accuser — Guilty people give themselves away.
- big deal — Said sarcastically to mean something is not important at all.
- play dumb — To pretend not to know or understand something.
More English idioms
- lightning never strikes twice — An unusual event, lucky or unlucky, is unlikely to happen again in the same way.
- teach your grandmother to suck eggs — To give advice to someone who knows far more than you.
- beauty is in the eye of the beholder — What one person finds beautiful another may not.
- play into someone's hands — To act in a way that unintentionally helps an opponent.
- make a hash of something — To do something very badly.
- all hell breaks loose — Chaos and disorder suddenly erupt.