under the weather
Meaning: feeling a little sick or depressed
Example: Sam, what’s wrong? You look a bit under the weather today.
raining cats and dogs
Meaning: raining very heavily
Example: It’s been raining cats and dogs since the beginning of the rainy season.
(NOTE: although this idiom is used a lot in English textbooks, native speakers don’t use it much in real life)
to weather a storm
Meaning: to endure a difficult period until it passes
Example: Sometimes marriage can have tough times but if you weather the storm, it usually turns out all right in the end.
a fair-weather friend
Meaning: someone who is a friend when things are going well for you but if things start to go badly is no longer a friend
Example: Sally used to come over all the time after I won the lottery. She’s such a fair-weather friend, though. When I lost all the money, she stopped coming to my house.
every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning: even bad things can have some good aspect in them
Example: I lost my job during the recession but ended up finding a better one. I guess every cloud has a silver lining.
head in the clouds
Meaning: to have unrealistically high ambitions or aspirations
Example: Dave wants to have a BMW and a large apartment before he’s 25. He really has his head in the clouds.
calm before the storm
Meaning: a quiet period before a busy or difficult time
Example: The boss hasn’t said anything about the project that needs to be finished tomorrow. Maybe this is just the calm before the storm.
it never rains but it pours
Meaning: when things go wrong, they go very wrong
Example: Today, my computer broke, the cat died, I lost my wallet and my train home was delayed. It never rains but it pours.
snowed under
Meaning: to have too much work
Example: I can’t meet you for dinner tonight because I am snowed under at work and need to stay late.
Today’s image is by Ton Araujo.