Nature & World
Wind down
To gradually relax after stress or activity.
Out of the woods
Out of danger or difficulty.
Make hay while the sun shines
Take advantage of an opportunity while conditions are right.
Fresh as a daisy
Full of energy and enthusiasm.
Grass is always greener on the other side
Other people's situations always look better.
Clear as day
Very easy to see or understand.
The tip of the iceberg
A small visible part of a much larger hidden problem.
Play with fire
To engage in a dangerous or risky activity.
English Idioms About Nature & the World
Nature and the world around us provide some of the most familiar images in English idioms. Weather, animals, plants, water, mountains, the sea, and the landscape are often used to describe human behavior, situations, emotions, risks, and change.
This category brings together English idioms inspired by the natural world and the physical environment. Their meanings are usually figurative: a person can be “walking on thin ice” without being anywhere near ice, while a difficult situation can put someone “between a rock and a hard place.”
Weather and natural forces
Weather is one of the most productive sources of English idioms. Storms, rain, sunshine, wind, clouds, and changing conditions provide familiar ways to talk about difficulties and unexpected events.
Expressions such as “weather the storm” describe surviving a difficult period, while “the calm before the storm” refers to a quiet period that comes before trouble. Other expressions use weather to describe emotions, certainty, or unpredictability.
Animals and the natural world
Animals appear in many everyday English expressions. Their characteristics and behavior have become metaphors for human actions and personalities.
An idiom may compare someone to a particular animal, describe a situation through animal behavior, or use an animal as part of a fixed image. Expressions such as “hold your horses”, “a wild goose chase”, and “the nature of the beast” show how different natural images can acquire meanings far removed from their literal sense.
Plants, trees, and growth
Plants and agriculture have also left a strong mark on English idiomatic language. Growing, planting, harvesting, roots, leaves, and flowers can all become metaphors for development, preparation, opportunity, and change.
For example, “turn over a new leaf” describes making a fresh start, while “nip something in the bud” means stopping a problem before it develops further.
Water, earth, and landscape
English idioms frequently draw on physical environments such as rivers, seas, mountains, rocks, and fields. These images can describe difficulty, uncertainty, scale, movement, or a person’s position in a situation.
Someone who is “in deep water” is in serious trouble, while “a drop in the ocean” describes something very small compared with what is needed. A difficult choice can leave someone “between a rock and a hard place.”
Nature as a metaphor for people and situations
Many nature-related idioms no longer feel connected to nature in everyday use. Their original imagery has become part of the language itself.
Expressions such as “down to earth”, “head in the clouds”, and “go with the flow” describe personality, attitude, or behavior rather than literal physical surroundings.
This is one reason nature idioms can be confusing for language learners: knowing the individual words is often not enough to understand the expression as a whole.
How these idioms are used
Nature-related idioms appear in everyday conversation, journalism, fiction, and informal writing. Some are extremely common, while others are more occasional, regional, old-fashioned, or stylistically marked.
When learning an idiom, it is useful to look beyond its dictionary definition. The examples on Akcento show how an expression works in an actual sentence and help distinguish its figurative meaning from its literal imagery.
Nature & World idioms in other languages
Nature provides universal images, but languages do not always use the same ones to express the same idea. An English expression involving rain, animals, water, or plants may have a completely different natural image in another language — or no idiomatic equivalent at all.
Akcento compares English idioms with natural equivalents in Russian, Spanish, and French, focusing on how speakers of each language would actually express the same idea rather than translating the individual words literally.
Explore more English idioms
Browse the Nature & World collection to discover expressions involving weather, animals, plants, water, earth, landscapes, and other parts of the natural world. Each entry includes its meaning, examples, origin information, and equivalents in other languages.
Frequently asked questions
What are Nature & World idioms?
They are idiomatic expressions inspired by nature and the physical world, including weather, animals, plants, water, earth, and landscapes.
What are some common English idioms about nature?
Examples include “under the weather,” “weather the storm,” “down to earth,” “head in the clouds,” “go with the flow,” and “a drop in the ocean.”
Are nature idioms always about nature?
No. The natural image is often only the source of the metaphor. The actual meaning may concern emotions, behavior, problems, decisions, or everyday situations.
Why are nature idioms difficult to translate?
Because the same idea may be expressed through completely different imagery in another language. A natural equivalent should therefore be chosen by meaning and usage, not simply by translating the words.