50 Idioms About Bad Things Happening With Meaning & Sentences
Idioms About Bad Things Happening
1. A Bitter Pill to Swallow
Meaning: Something unpleasant that must be accepted.
In a Sentence: Losing the championship was a bitter pill to swallow.
Other Ways to Say: Hard to accept, Tough reality
2. Back Against the Wall
Meaning: To be in a difficult situation with no easy way out.
In a Sentence: She had her back against the wall with that tough choice.
Other Ways to Say: Stuck in a tough spot, No way out
3. Down in the Dumps
Meaning: Feeling very sad or depressed.
In a Sentence: He’s been down in the dumps since the breakup.
Other Ways to Say: Feeling low, Depressed
4. Caught Red-Handed
Meaning: To be caught in the act of doing something wrong.
In a Sentence: He was caught red-handed sneaking cookies.
Other Ways to Say: Busted in the act, Found out
5. Fall from Grace
Meaning: To lose status, respect, or reputation.
In a Sentence: The politician’s scandal led to his fall from grace.
Other Ways to Say: Disgraced, Shamed
6. Bite the Dust
Meaning: To fail or be defeated.
In a Sentence: Another business bit the dust in the recession.
Other Ways to Say: Go under, Crash and burn
7. In Hot Water
Meaning: In trouble or facing consequences.
In a Sentence: He’s in hot water for missing work.
Other Ways to Say: In trouble, Facing heat
8. The Last Straw
Meaning: The final problem in a series of issues.
In a Sentence: The broken window was the last straw for the landlord.
Other Ways to Say: Final blow, Breaking point
9. Hit Rock Bottom
Meaning: To reach the lowest possible point.
In a Sentence: After losing his job and home, he hit rock bottom.
Other Ways to Say: Lowest point, No way but up
10. Go Up in Smoke
Meaning: Plans failing or disappearing completely.
In a Sentence: Our vacation plans went up in smoke with the storm.
Other Ways to Say: Ruined, Destroyed
11. Cry Over Spilled Milk
Meaning: To be upset about something that can’t be changed.
In a Sentence: It’s no use crying over spilled milk now.
Other Ways to Say: Let it go, What’s done is done
12. Skeleton in the Closet
Meaning: A hidden secret or shameful past.
In a Sentence: Every family has its skeletons in the closet.
Other Ways to Say: Hidden truth, Dark secret
13. Jump Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
Meaning: Going from a bad situation to a worse one.
In a Sentence: Changing jobs landed her in worse trouble—it was like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
Other Ways to Say: From bad to worse, Made things worse
14. At the End of Your Rope
Meaning: Out of patience or resources.
In a Sentence: She was at the end of her rope with the constant delays.
Other Ways to Say: Fed up, Exhausted
15. Down and Out
Meaning: Having no money or hope.
In a Sentence: After the business failed, he was completely down and out.
Other Ways to Say: Penniless, Rock bottom
16. Blow Up in Your Face
Meaning: When a plan fails and causes more problems.
In a Sentence: His scheme to cheat on the test blew up in his face.
Other Ways to Say: Backfire, Go wrong
17. Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Meaning: Accusing the wrong person or pursuing the wrong solution.
In a Sentence: You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think I stole your book.
Other Ways to Say: Mistaken, Wrong assumption
18. Burn Bridges
Meaning: To destroy relationships or opportunities permanently.
In a Sentence: Quitting without notice burned bridges with his boss.
Other Ways to Say: Sever ties, No going back
19. Throw Under the Bus
Meaning: To blame someone else to save yourself.
In a Sentence: He threw his colleague under the bus during the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Betray, Shift the blame
20. Dig Your Own Grave
Meaning: To do something that will cause your own failure.
In a Sentence: Lying to the boss was like digging his own grave.
Other Ways to Say: Self-sabotage, Make things worse
21. Take a Hit
Meaning: To suffer a loss or damage.
In a Sentence: Their reputation took a hit after the scandal.
Other Ways to Say: Suffer damage, Lose status
22. Out of the Frying Pan
Meaning: Getting out of one bad situation into another.
In a Sentence: Leaving one toxic job for another felt like out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Other Ways to Say: Traded trouble, Bad to worse
23. A Day Late and a Dollar Short
Meaning: Too late and unprepared.
In a Sentence: His solution was a day late and a dollar short.
Other Ways to Say: Too little too late, Not enough
24. Drag Your Feet
Meaning: To delay or procrastinate.
In a Sentence: They dragged their feet on responding to the complaint.
Other Ways to Say: Stall, Delay action
25. Downfall
Meaning: A sudden loss of power, happiness, or success.
In a Sentence: His arrogance led to his downfall.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse, Ruin
26. Storm Brewing
Meaning: Trouble is coming.
In a Sentence: You could tell there was a storm brewing in the office.
Other Ways to Say: Trouble ahead, Tension rising
27. Drop the Ball
Meaning: To make a mistake or fail to do something.
In a Sentence: He dropped the ball by missing the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up, Fail
28. Under the Gun
Meaning: Under pressure or in a stressful situation.
In a Sentence: She was under the gun to finish the report by noon.
Other Ways to Say: Pressured, In a crunch
29. Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Meaning: Caught in a dilemma with no good options.
In a Sentence: He was stuck between a rock and a hard place with that choice.
Other Ways to Say: No-win situation, Difficult decision
30. Hit a Snag
Meaning: To encounter an unexpected problem.
In a Sentence: We hit a snag in the final stages of the project.
Other Ways to Say: Faced a setback, Ran into trouble
31. Throw in the Towel
Meaning: To give up or quit.
In a Sentence: After trying so hard, she finally threw in the towel.
Other Ways to Say: Surrender, Call it quits
32. Kick the Bucket
Meaning: To die.
In a Sentence: Sadly, the old man kicked the bucket last night.
Other Ways to Say: Pass away, Die
33. Go Off the Rails
Meaning: To behave in a wild or uncontrolled way.
In a Sentence: After losing his job, he went off the rails.
Other Ways to Say: Lose control, Act out
34. Treading on Thin Ice
Meaning: In a risky or dangerous situation.
In a Sentence: You’re treading on thin ice talking back like that.
Other Ways to Say: Walking a fine line, Close to trouble
35. Open a Can of Worms
Meaning: To create a complicated or messy situation.
In a Sentence: Asking about her ex opened a whole can of worms.
Other Ways to Say: Stir up trouble, Create drama
36. Add Fuel to the Fire
Meaning: To make a bad situation worse.
In a Sentence: Yelling only added fuel to the fire.
Other Ways to Say: Make it worse, Intensify problems
37. Crack Under Pressure
Meaning: To break down in a stressful situation.
In a Sentence: He cracked under pressure during the interview.
Other Ways to Say: Lose composure, Break down
38. Put in a Tough Spot
Meaning: To place someone in a difficult situation.
In a Sentence: That decision put me in a tough spot with my coworkers.
Other Ways to Say: Awkward position, Difficult place
39. Downhill Spiral
Meaning: A situation that keeps getting worse.
In a Sentence: His health went into a downhill spiral.
Other Ways to Say: Getting worse, Spiraling out
40. A Raw Deal
Meaning: An unfair situation.
In a Sentence: He got a raw deal from his boss.
Other Ways to Say: Treated unfairly, Unjust
41. A Hard Nut to Crack
Meaning: A difficult problem or person.
In a Sentence: Solving this case is a hard nut to crack.
Other Ways to Say: Tough situation, Hard to solve
42. Bad Blood
Meaning: Hostility or resentment between people.
In a Sentence: There’s bad blood between them after the argument.
Other Ways to Say: Tension, Bitter relationship
43. Off the Deep End
Meaning: To lose control or act irrationally.
In a Sentence: After the breakup, he went off the deep end.
Other Ways to Say: Lost it, Overreacted
44. Cut Corners
Meaning: To do something poorly to save time or money.
In a Sentence: They cut corners during construction and now it’s falling apart.
Other Ways to Say: Take shortcuts, Do it cheaply
45. Get the Short End of the Stick
Meaning: To receive unfair treatment.
In a Sentence: She got the short end of the stick in the deal.
Other Ways to Say: Unfair deal, Bad luck
46. Hit Where It Hurts
Meaning: To target someone’s weakness.
In a Sentence: That comment hit him where it hurts.
Other Ways to Say: Hit a nerve, Deep impact
47. Out of Luck
Meaning: Having no success or good fortune.
In a Sentence: I tried all the stores, but I’m out of luck.
Other Ways to Say: No chance, Unlucky
48. In the Doghouse
Meaning: In trouble or disfavor.
In a Sentence: He’s in the doghouse for forgetting her birthday.
Other Ways to Say: Out of favor, In trouble
49. Rub Salt in the Wound
Meaning: To make a bad situation worse.
In a Sentence: Bragging about her success rubbed salt in the wound.
Other Ways to Say: Make it worse, Insult injury
50. A Dead End
Meaning: A situation with no prospects or progress.
In a Sentence: That job was a dead end, so he quit.
Other Ways to Say: No future, Stuck position
