Wind idioms
A list of fascinating wind idioms in the English language. A good time to introduce these expressions about wind to English learners is when you have classes related to the topic of weather.
The wind idioms are –
- A breeze
- A bag of wind
- Beat the wind
- Twist in the wind
- Bend with the wind
- Blowing in the wind
- Breeze along
- Breeze past
- A candle in the wind
- A capful of wind
- Eat wind
- The eye of the hurricane
- Fan the breeze
- Fan the flames
- Four sheets in the wind
- Gales of laughter
- Get the wind up
- To get wind of
- Go like the wind
- An ill wind
- Knock the wind out of someone
- Sail close to the wind
- Second wind
- See which way the wind blows
- Shoot the breeze
- Spit in the wind
- Take the wind out of someone’s sails
- Throw caution to the wind
- Tornado juice
- Willow in the wind
- Winds of change
Now here are the wind idioms with meanings and examples.
1 – If something is a breeze, it is very easy to do.
- Example – The exam was a breeze and she got high marks.
2 – A person who is a bag of wind or a windbag talks too much and often talks nonsense.
- Example – She is a bag of wind, she spoke nonstop for 15 minutes and I didn’t get a chance to say anything!
3 – To beat the wind is to continue doing something that will never succeed or result in the way you want it to. Another wind idiom with the same meaning is to cast stones against the wind.
- Example – He is beating the wind trying to ask her out, she will never go out with him.
4 – To be left to twist in the wind is to be abandoned without help in a difficult situation.
- Example – Her father disappeared when she was young and her mother was left to twist in the wind.
5 – To bend in the wind or bend with the wind is to adapt to survive challenging times in life.
- Example – We don’t have much money we will have to bend with the wind to get by this year.
6 – If something is blowing in the wind, it means that people are talking and thinking about it.
- Example – There were some new ideas blowing in the wind at her office.
7 – If you breeze along, you carry on with no troubles or things to worry about.
- Example – After college, she just breezed along working whenever she felt like it.
8 – To breeze past something or someone is to move past them quickly.
- Example – The race leader was able to breeze past the other drivers on the straight.
9 – A candle in the wind is something that is vulnerable, fragile, weak, or may not live for long.
- Example – The new fish in the aquarium are candles in the wind, they may not last very long.
10 – A capful of wind is a sudden or unexpected gust of wind or a light breeze.
- Example – He felt a capful of wind as he sat drinking his coffee.
11 – To eat wind means to go for a walk.
- Example – She felt bored inside and decided to go out and eat some wind.
12 – As an idiom – the eye of the hurricane is a temporary quiet or calm period of time after trouble before a situation gets worse again.
- Example – The gunfire had stopped but the soldiers knew that it was just the eye of the hurricane and fighting would resume again soon.
13 – To fan the breeze is to chat casually or gossip.
- Example – They sat drinking tea, fanning the breeze all afternoon.
14 – If you fan the flames of something you make it more intense. It could be an argument, a situation, or a person’s mood.
- Example – He bought her flowers every day which fanned the flames of her love for him.
15 – A person who is four sheets in the wind or both sheets in the wind is drunk or intoxicated. This is one of the older wind idioms that was created by sailors.
- Example – He came home four sheets in the wind after the party at 2 a.m.
16 – Gales of laughter refer to lots of loud laughter.
- Example – There were gales of laughter at the bar when told the joke.
17 – To get or have the wind up about something is to be scared or nervous. Similarly, if you put the wind up someone you make them frightened or anxious.
- Example – She got the wind up about crime in the area and moved to another city.
18 – To get wind of something is to hear news or information about something and become aware of it. It is usually associated with secrets or private information
- Example – He didn’t want his wife to get wind of his secret savings account.
19 – To go like the wind is to go or move very quickly.
- Example – She joined the athletics team because she could run like the wind.
20 – An ill wind is used to describe a bad or unlucky event that brings good fortune to somebody else.
- Example – It was an ill wind, she recovered in the hospital and married the doctor who treated her.
21 – If you knock the wind out of somebody you hit them so hard that they have trouble breathing.
- Example I crashed my motorbike last week, it really knocked the wind out of me.
22 – To sail close to the wind is to do something dangerous, risky, or almost illegal.
- Example – He is sailing close to the wind driving that fast in the rain, he might have an accident.
23 – If you get a second wind, you find the energy and strength to continue doing something after feeling very tired. This is one of the most common wind idioms.
- Example – He got a second wind after lunch and continued to chop the wood.
24 – If you see which way the wind blows, or see how the wind blows you wait for or find out information before acting or making a decision.
- Example – I think I’ll see which way the wind blows before buying a ticket to London.
25 – To shoot the breeze is to chat or talk to someone informally.
- Example – They like to shoot the breeze and relax when they are out fishing.
26 – To spit in the wind is to do something pointless or ineffectual that will never achieve its goal. It is much the same as the idiom beat the wind.
- Example – He’s spitting in the wind trying to fix that old car, it will never move again.
27 – To take the wind out of someone’s sails is to make a person suddenly much less confident than they were beforehand.
- Example – The team scored 2 quick goals and took the wind out of their opponent’s sails.
28 – To throw caution to the wind means to do something without any fear of bad results or danger.
- Example – She threw caution to the wind and moved to Japan to find a new job.
29 – Tornado juice is a slang expression for whiskey or hard liquor.
- Example – It was so cold on the mountain that we had a few sips of tornado juice to warm up.
30 – A willow in the wind is a person who easily changes what they believe in or follows due to listening to other people.
- Example – He was a willow in the wind and voted for whatever changes his colleagues did.
31 – The winds of change refer to small events, occurrences or forces that lead to or mean that major changes or upheavals are going to happen.
- Example – There were winds of change at the company before it went bankrupt.
Related activities
If you enjoyed the wind idioms, you will probably also want to have a look at the star idioms and the hot idioms.
