it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye
Meaning: Rough play may seem harmless but can end in injury.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Put down the water pistols; it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: A parent's warning of the 20th century; a similar Roman saying and Victorian versions are sometimes cited, but its first use has not been confirmed.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Jeux de mains, jeux de vilains — literally: Games of hands, games of churls
More idioms — Body & Senses
- a dab hand — Someone very skilled at something.
- cry one's eyes out — To cry very hard and for a long time.
- hale and hearty — Healthy and strong, especially in old age.
- break a leg — Good luck, said to a performer before going on stage.
- an eye for an eye — Punishment should match the injury; revenge in kind.
- grease someone's palm — To bribe someone.
More English idioms
- the judgment of Solomon — A wise decision that cleverly settles a difficult dispute.
- six of one, half a dozen of the other — Two options are essentially the same.
- to the letter — Exactly and precisely, following every detail.
- get the boot — To be dismissed from a job or thrown out.
- don't wash your dirty linen in public — Keep private problems and quarrels private.
- can't see the forest for the trees — Too focused on details to understand the whole situation.
From our proverbs
- Sorrow will wear away in time. — Grief loses its sharp intensity through the natural passage of days and healing.
- When sorrow is asleep, wake it not. — Avoid reopening old wounds or painful memories that have faded with time.
- Sorrow comes unsent for, and, like the unbidden guest, brings his own stool. — Uninvited suffering arrives on its own terms, requiring no preparation and creating its o…