blow a gale
Meaning: Of the wind: to blow extremely hard.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “It was blowing a gale on the ferry, and half the passengers were seasick.”
Category: Nature
Origin: Nautical English. "Gale" for a strong wind is recorded from the mid-16th century, and sailors ranked winds from a "moderate" to a "whole" gale.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Un vent à décorner les bœufs — literally: A wind to dehorn the oxen
More idioms — Nature
- throw caution to the wind — To stop being careful and take a risk.
- do a moonlight flit — To leave one's home secretly at night, usually to avoid paying rent or debts.
- in the middle of nowhere — In a very remote place, far from towns.
- out of thin air — Appearing from nowhere, as if by magic.
- be at a low ebb — To be in a poor or weak state.
- the four corners of the earth — Every part of the world.
More English idioms
- sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me — Insults cannot really harm you, so they are best ignored.
- drunk as a skunk — Extremely drunk.
- know someone in the biblical sense — To have had sex with someone.
- in one's birthday suit — Completely naked.
- a last stand — A final, determined effort to resist, usually when defeat is likely.
- you could hear a pin drop — It was completely silent.
From our compliments & insults
- Avoir un poil dans la main — To be incurably lazy.
- Tête de linotte — A scatterbrain who can't hold a thought.
- Courir sur le haricot — To get badly on someone's nerves.