{"id":23705,"date":"2025-05-16T13:21:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?post_type=free_lesson&p=23705"},"modified":"2025-06-17T13:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:46:35","slug":"10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations","status":"publish","type":"free_lesson","link":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/","title":{"rendered":"10 water idioms for difficult situations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In English, there are a number of idioms using the word water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I hope you know, water’s very important: we use it for drinking, washing and splashing about in. Most importantly, it’s used to make the ice, which I put in my favourite drink – whiskey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, water\u2019s also dangerous: for example, we\u2019re careful to watch young children when they play near rivers or the sea and, of course, giant  killer sharks, like Jaws, live in the water! Water idioms often highlight the dangerous or difficult side of our watery friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 10 water idioms which can help you describe difficult situations: <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
To be in deep water <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To be in a difficult situation which is hard to deal with: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’ll be in deep water<\/strong> unless I pass that exam. Without a pass, I won’t be able to get into university.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be in hot water <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Very similar to deep water<\/strong> (above)<\/em>, but with an emphasis on being punished for your actions:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m going to be in hot water<\/strong> with my boss when he finds out that I lost our client’s account.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be out of (one’s) depth<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To be in a situation that is too difficult for you to deal with: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I didn’t understand anything they were talking about at the meeting; I was totally out of my depth.” “I’m going to be in hot water<\/strong> with my boss when he finds out that I lost our client’s account.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be like a fish out of water<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To feel awkward \/ uncomfortable because you are in an situation which you have not experienced before: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I grew up in the countryside, so when I moved to the city, I felt like a fish out of water<\/strong>.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To pour cold water on something <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To be critical of a plan that others thought was exciting or great: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I really don’t want to pour cold water on your plan<\/strong>, but I really don’t think it will work.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Try a free online lesson with EC Live<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Live online English classes for continuous learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
try it for free<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
To blow something out of the water <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

To defeat someone or something that you are competing with, or to achieve much more than they do: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Microsoft are confident that their new software will blow all other company’s software out of the water<\/strong>.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water under the bridge <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Something is water under the bridge when it belongs in the past and isn’t important or troubling any more: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I fought with my brother once over a woman we both liked, but it’s all water under the bridge<\/strong> now.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does not hold water <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

When something does not hold water it seems that it an idea, plan or statement is wrong or false: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The reason she gave for being late for class didn’t hold water<\/strong>; I’m sure she was lying.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be dead in the water <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

When something is dead in the water it has stopped making any progress, it has failed and has no hope for the future: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Since our boss left, this company has been dead in the water.<\/strong>” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To come hell or high water<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This expression means “no matter what happens”: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t want to work late again today. Come hell or high water<\/strong>, I’m leaving at 5pm.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In English, there are a number of idioms using the word water. As I hope you know, water’s very important:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8220,"parent":0,"template":"","free_lesson_category":[286,280],"class_list":["post-23705","free_lesson","type-free_lesson","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","free_lesson_category-idioms","free_lesson_category-vocabulary"],"acf":{"related_posts":""},"yoast_head":"\n10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EC English ( EN )\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T13:46:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1553\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1084\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/\",\"name\":\"10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-16T13:21:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T13:46:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg\",\"width\":1553,\"height\":1084},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Learn English for free\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Vocabulary\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/vocabulary\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"10 water idioms for difficult situations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/\",\"name\":\"EC English ( EN )\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English","description":"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English","og_description":"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.","og_url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/","og_site_name":"EC English ( EN )","article_modified_time":"2025-06-17T13:46:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1553,"height":1084,"url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/","url":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/","name":"10 water idioms for difficult situations | EC English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-16T13:21:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T13:46:35+00:00","description":"Learn 10 water idioms we use for difficult situations in English and how to use them naturally.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Dubai-Aquarium.jpg","width":1553,"height":1084},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/idioms\/10-water-idioms-for-difficult-situations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn English for free","item":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Vocabulary","item":"https:\/\/ecenglish.com\/en\/learn-english-for-free\/vocabulary\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"10 water idioms for difficult situations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/","name":"EC English ( EN )","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/23705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/free_lesson"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/23705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24754,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson\/23705\/revisions\/24754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"free_lesson_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ec.itmonks.dev\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/free_lesson_category?post=23705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}