IdiomDaily Life

English

go through the wringer

Meaning: To go through a very hard experience.

Example: “After the lawsuit and the divorce, she really went through the wringer.”

Origin: A wringer was a pair of rollers used to squeeze water out of laundry. The figurative sense is from the 20th century.

Equivalents in other languages

French: Des vertes et des pas mûres Literally: Some green ones and some unripe ones

More English idioms

clear as day Completely obvious.
have had it up to here To be completely fed up.
sly as a fox Very cunning.
walk a tightrope To be in a situation where one small mistake would be disastrous.
take one's ball and go home To quit in a sulk and spoil the activity for everyone else.
a spare tire A roll of fat around the waist.

Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words

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Pana poʻo Scratching your head to help yourself remember something you've forgotten.

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