IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishborrow trouble
Meaning: To worry about problems that may never happen.
Example: “The test isn't until next month; don't borrow trouble.”
Origin: Taking on trouble before it is due, like a loan. The phrase is American, common from the 19th century, often as "don't borrow trouble."
Equivalents in other languages
Japanese: 杞憂 (Kiyū) Literally: Worry of Qi - fear that the sky might fall
Afrikaans: Bobbejaan agter die bult Literally: A baboon behind the hill
More English idioms
- cook the books To falsify figures, especially accounts.
- no room to swing a cat A very small or cramped space.
- a snake in the grass A treacherous person who pretends to be a friend.
- give one's eyeteeth for something To want something very badly.
- like chalk and cheese Completely different, though perhaps similar at first glance.
- blush to the roots of one's hair To go very red with embarrassment.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
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