skate on thin ice
skating on thin ice
Engaged in some activity or behavior that is very risky, dangerous, or likely to cause a lot of trouble. I hope you realize that you'll be skating on thin ice if you decide to gamble your employees' retirement funds on such a dodgy investment. Honestly, I wouldn't even mention the new woman in work, or you could find yourself skating on thin ice with your wife.
See also: ice, on, skate, thin
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
skate on thin ice
Fig. to be in a risky situation. (Fig. on the image of someone taking the risk of ice skating on thin ice.) I try to stay well informed so I don't end up skating on thin ice when the teacher asks me a question. You are skating on thin ice when you ask me that!
See also: ice, on, skate, thin
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
on thin ice, to be/skate
A hazardous course of action or conversation. “In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Prudence (1841). Literally, it is possible to skate over very thin ice without breaking through if one glides quickly enough, but Emerson was already using the expression figuratively.
See also: on, skate, thin
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be skating on thin ice
- be skating/walking on thin ice
- be (walking) on thin ice
- If you play with fire, you get burned
- If you play with fire, you get burnt
- err on the side of caution
- all (one's) life is worth
- dance on the razor's edge
- all (one's) life's worth
- between the hammer and the anvil