på hal is
Meaning: In a precarious or dangerous situation that one cannot control or easily escape.
Language: Swedish
Literally: on slippery ice
Category: Nature
Origin: The literal image of standing on thin ice that could break underfoot conveys the sense of being in mortal danger through one's own misstep.
More idioms — Nature
- mitt på ljusan dag — In broad daylight; openly and obviously, not in secret.
- trzęsienie ziemi — A sudden, violent upheaval or catastrophic disruption in society, politics, or personal c…
- zapadać się pod ziemię — To wish to disappear from shame or mortification.
- studnia bez dna — An endless source of trouble or expense; something that consumes resources without limit…
- światełko w tunelu — A sign of hope or improvement after a long period of hardship or darkness.
- zmieszać z błotem — To harshly criticize or verbally attack someone; to tear them apart.
More Swedish idioms
- högt spel — A risky venture or pursuit involving substantial stakes and danger.
- ta sig friheten — To take a liberty or privilege that one has not been explicitly granted.
- ta sig friheter — To act without appropriate restraint, especially to make inappropriate advances or impose…
- sjunga på sista versen — To be near the end of one's life or near the end of something's existence.
- surt sa räven — To claim that something undesirable was not worth having anyway, as a way of masking disa…
- slåss mot väderkvarnar — To engage in a futile struggle against imaginary or trivial enemies.
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