one's blood runs cold
Meaning: To be filled with sudden fear or horror.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “My blood ran cold when I heard footsteps in the empty house.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: It reflects the old medical belief that emotions changed the body's temperature and humors. The phrase is common from the early 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: avoir les sangs tournés — literally: to have one's bloods turned
More idioms — Body & Senses
- poke one's nose into — To pry or interfere in matters that do not concern one.
- rot one's brain — To dull one's mind through mindless activity.
- put someone back on their feet — To help someone recover, financially, physically or emotionally.
- Aunt Flo is visiting — A euphemism for having one's menstrual period.
- laugh one's head off — To laugh very loudly and for a long time.
- in one's birthday suit — Completely naked.
More English idioms
- stir up a hornet's nest — To cause a lot of trouble or anger, often by provoking people.
- go down fighting — To keep struggling until the very end, even when defeat is certain.
- none of your beeswax — A playful way of saying "none of your business."
- that's all she wrote — That is the end of it; there is nothing more.
- the butt of the joke — The person everyone laughs at or makes fun of.
- roll in the hay — To have casual sex.
From our proverbs
- A nimble ninepence is better than a slow shilling. — Quick profit from small ventures outpaces sluggish returns from larger investments.
- The more noble the more humble. — Greater virtue requires deeper humility, as true excellence recognizes its own limitation…
- The great Homer himself sometimes nods. — Even the most skilled and accomplished people occasionally make mistakes or lose focus.