skating on thin ice


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skating on thin ice

Engaged in some activity or behavior that is very risky, dangerous, or likely to cause a lot of trouble. I hope you realize that you'll be skating on thin ice if you decide to gamble your employees' retirement funds on such a dodgy investment. Honestly, I wouldn't even mention the new woman in work, or you could find yourself skating on thin ice with your wife.
See also: ice, on, skate, thin
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

skate on thin ice

Fig. to be in a risky situation. (Fig. on the image of someone taking the risk of ice skating on thin ice.) I try to stay well informed so I don't end up skating on thin ice when the teacher asks me a question. You are skating on thin ice when you ask me that!
See also: ice, on, skate, thin
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

on thin ice, to be/skate

A hazardous course of action or conversation. “In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Prudence (1841). Literally, it is possible to skate over very thin ice without breaking through if one glides quickly enough, but Emerson was already using the expression figuratively.
See also: on, skate, thin, to
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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Memory lapses
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