IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishtread carefully
Meaning: To act with great caution in a delicate situation.
Example: “Tread carefully when you mention the divorce.”
Origin: "Tread" means to step; treading carefully avoids what lies underfoot. The phrase echoes W. B. Yeats's line "tread softly because you tread on my dreams" (1899) and is common from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: con pies de plomo Literally: With feet of lead
More English idioms
- make a clean break To end something completely rather than gradually.
- a bit on the side A secret lover; an affair.
- use someone as a cat's paw To get someone else to do one's dirty work.
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- lose one's marbles To go crazy.
- with only the clothes on one's back With no possessions at all.
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