Top 10 Halloween

idioms and expressions

By Jasmine Damen

Category: ELT Resources

Happy Halloween everyone – we hope you’re

having a spooky day! Read on (if you dare) to find
out our top 10 favourite spook-tacular idioms and
their meanings. We hope they don’t give you a
scare!

Suggested activities for using idioms in the

classroom

How Idioms Work by Yvonne Clarke, with

illustrations by Martin Jones

Picture match
– Copy and cut up picture idioms and their
corresponding written idioms.
– Students match the idioms with the
pictures.
Find the definition
– Copy and cut up a selection of written
idioms and definitions.
– Students match each written idiom to its
definition.
Memory game
– Copy and cut up pictures and the
corresponding written idioms.
– Shu!e the cards and place them face down
(five rows of three cards).
– Students take turns to flip over two cards
and see if they match.
– If they match, the students keep them! If
they don’t match, students replace the cards
face down.
– The winner is the student with the most
pairs of matching cards.
Mime
– In pairs, small groups or as a class.
– A student takes one picture idiom from the
pile and mimes what it depicts, while the
other students guess what the idiom is.
Happy families
– Copy and cut out picture idioms, their
corresponding written idioms and their
definitions.
– Shu!e all the cards and deal half to
students.
– Put the remaining cards face down on the
table.
– Students look at the cards and try to make
as many ‘families of three’ (i.e., picture, idiom,
definition), as possible.
– Students get rid of unwanted cards, and
pick up new cards from the top of the pile.

You can find more suggested activities in How

Idioms Work by Yvonne Clarke and Martin Jones.

And now, it’s time for some spooky idioms! As

well as the idiom, meaning, and origin, there is also
a list of useful websites and articles at the end of
this blog, so be sure to check them out.

1. SKELETON IN THE CLOSET

Meaning: an embarrassing fact or scandal that
someone wants to keep secret
Example: Wherever he goes, he is worried that
someone will find out about his skeleton in the
closet.
Origin: The Phrase Finder had a lot of information
about the etymology of this idiom. It was first
referenced in 19th century England by journalist
William Hendry Stowell. “The dread of being the
cause of misery to posterity has prevailed over
men to conceal the skeleton in the closet…” (The
Eclectic Review, 1816).

The phrase was then more widely adopted into

English thanks to William Makepeace Thackeray, a
Victorian author who frequently used the phrase in
his writing: “… which will show us that they have a
skeleton or two in their closets.” (The Newcomes;
Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, 1845). The
Phrase Finder further suggests: “What isn’t clear is
whether the origin of the phrase lies in fiction, or
with real life, so to speak, skeletons.“

MTown

2. GHOST TOWN
Meaning: a deserted place where there are few or
no people
Example: I woke up at 5 a.m. to go for a run. It felt
like a ghost town, I didn’t see anyone!
Origin: This phrase can refer to an actual town that
used to thrive, but now has little to no population.
However, it can also frequently be used with a
simile to describe somewhere as ‘like a ghost town’,
as in the example above.

However, in terms of the origin – it’s a little tricky.

Merriam-Webster states that the first known use of
‘ghost town‘ was in 1931, but I can’t find any
information to support this. Author Lambert Florin
defines ‘ghost town’ as “a shadowy semblance of a
former self” (source), which could suggest why the
word ghost was originally used to describe such a
town. To use another idiom – the jury is still out on
this one!

3. SCAREDY CAT
Meaning: someone who is easily frightened
Example: Don’t be such a scaredy cat … skydiving
is fun!
Origin: There are a lot of di"erent suggestions for
the origins of this phrase online. Know Your Phrase
say that it most likely comes from the fact that cats
are easily scared by things. The same source, and
the Online Etymology Dictionary suggest that the
first use of the word ‘scaredy-cat’ occured in 1906.
It was used in the book Billy Bounce by W.W.
Denslow: “That is scaredy cat, and she will never
come back”. However, Merriam-Webster states that
its first known use was in 1948, which may be a
reference to the short cartoon Scaredy Cat which
was published in 1948. Source.

It’s also worth nothing that the phrase ‘fraidy-cat’

can also be used to mean the same thing, and is
said to have first appeared in print in 1897.

4. SCARED STIFF
Meaning: very afraid, to the point where they are
incapable of movement
Example: Aza didn’t want to go on stage; she was
scared sti!.
Origin: The use of the word ‘sti"’ most likely refers
to the idea that if something is sti", it cannot be
moved. However, it could also be a reference to
another use of the word ‘sti"’, meaning a dead
body.

This was a hard phrase to find any sort of solid

information for. The Online Etymology Dictionary
suggests that the first recorded instance of this
phrase occurred in 1900. However, I couldn’t find
the significance of this date on any other website.
The Phrase Finder loosely references this phrase
when talking about the origin of ‘scared out of my
wits’.

5. WOULDN’T SAY BOO TO A GOOSE

Meaning: shy or nervous
Example: I don’t think James would do that; he
wouldn’t say boo to a goose.
Origin: As with lots of words, it seems that this
phrase has changed slightly over time. Word
Histories clarifies that ‘boo’ refers to a later form of
‘bo‘ – an exclamation meaning to frighten, as
opposed to an expression of disapproval.

The first instance of it being used in this context is:

“To be able to say Bo! to a goose is to be not quite
destitute of courage …” (Notes and Queries, 1870).
The website also states that the earliest printed
version uses ‘shoo’: “who can scarse say shue to a
goose.” (A Seconde Admonition to the Parliament,
1572).

6. DROP DEAD GORGEOUS

Meaning: very good looking
Example: Friend 1: Do I look alright in this?
Friend 2: Are you kidding? You look drop dead
gorgeous!
Origin: In English, there are a lot of phrases which
use the word ‘dead’ idiomatically! Drop-dead
gorgeous is just one of those. In this phrase, ‘drop-
dead’ is used as an intensifier, to exclaim
astonishment about just how gorgeous someone
is. The Phrase Finder references a report that was
printed in the Shreveport Times in 1972. “Cher,
drop-dead gorgeous in a second skin of silver, pink,
purple and red sequins.”

7. NIGHT OWL
Meaning: a person who tends to stay up late; an
evening person
Example: He didn’t go to bed until 3 a.m. – he’s
such a night owl.
Origin: This was originally simply a synonym for
‘owl’, as owls are nocturnal animals, meaning they
are awake at night. However, the use of the term,
when not simply talking about owls, was first used
by William Shakespeare in a poem: “The dove
sleeps fast that this night-owl will catch“. Source.

8. DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE

Meaning: to do something that will cause you
harm or problems in the future
Example: Student 1: I think I’m going to skip this
lecture again.
Student 2: Alright, but you’re digging your own
grave.
Origin: A research paper written by Arvo Krikmann
suggests that this phrase could originate in a
proverb: “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein.”
(Proverb 26:27). However Dictionary.com suggests
it originated in the first half of the 1900s but gives
no further information. Bit of a tricky one, and still
up in the air!

9. GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Meaning: a work shift that happens overnight
Example: I have to work the graveyard shift
tonight; I’m really not looking forward to it.
Origin: The Phrase Finder talks about the
questionable origin of this phrase so take the
following origin story with a pinch of salt …

In the olden days in England, it is said that they

were running out of places to bury bodies. They
therefore started digging up co#ns and moving the
bones to ‘bone-houses’. Whilst doing this, they
discovered scratch marks on the inside of the
co#ns, signalling that people had been accidentally
buried alive (yikes). To stop this from happening,
they attached a string around the wrist of corpses
which was then attached to a bell. It is said it was
someone’s job to sit in the graveyard all night (a
‘graveyard shift’) and see if the bell rang. Spooky
stu".

However, the first instance of this idiom appearing

in print was in the US newspaper The Salt Lake
Tribune in 1897: “… This month Sergeant Ware
takes the morning relief. Sergeant Matt Rhodes the
middle and Sergeant John Burbidge the graveyard
shift.”

10. OVER MY DEAD BODY

Meaning: used to express that you strongly
oppose something, or won’t allow it to happen
Example: Person 1: I thought we were going to
split the money if we won.
Person 2: Ha, over my dead body.
Origin: Not much is known about the origin of this
phrase. However, it has been suggested that it was
in use during the 1800s as a “common hyperbolic
expression” used in jokes. ‘Hyperbolic’ means that
is is used in an exaggerated way for e"ect. Source.

Special thanks to our talented illustrator, Doug, for

creating these spooky illustrations. You can find
out more about Doug’s illustration process here.

Resources, websites & articles:

ELL stack exchange is a great forum for

English language learners where you can find
lots of threads of questions and answers
The Phrase Finder is a great source of phrases
and origins
The blogger ‘Shmaltzandmenudo‘ often delves
into famous sayings and their origins.
Word Histories is also a great website run by
Pascal Tréguer. His blogs dive into the
authentic origins of words and tries to dispel
the myths that frequent the internet.
World Wide Words has lots of articles which
investigates the English language across the
globe.
Article: Idioms which include the word ‘dead’

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