fall on hard times
Meaning: To become poor or suffer misfortune.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The old family fell on hard times after the war.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: "Fall on" meaning to come upon. "Hard times" for poverty is found from the 18th century, and Charles Dickens used it as a novel title in 1854.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Manger de la vache enragée — literally: To eat rabid cow
More idioms — Daily Life
- a nasty piece of work — An unpleasant, cruel or dishonest person.
- good riddance — Said when one is glad to be rid of someone or something.
- go through the wringer — To go through a very hard experience.
- go off on a tangent — To wander away from the subject being discussed.
- strike out — To fail completely, especially in an attempt to attract someone.
- nothing doing — Refusal; there is no chance of that happening.
More English idioms
- holy cow! — An exclamation of surprise.
- clear as day — Completely obvious.
- be in the know — To have information that most people do not have.
- have had it up to here — To be completely fed up.
- be off one's game — To perform worse than usual.
- be miles away — To be lost in thought and not paying attention.
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