unfamiliar

Related to unfamiliar: unfamiliar territory

unfamiliar territory

A situation or circumstance that is foreign, unclear, or unfamiliar and which may be dangerous or difficult as a result. We're starting to get into unfamiliar territory exploiting these tax loopholes. If we aren't careful, the government may crack down on us hard! John has always kept himself closed off from family members, so his real feelings have been unfamiliar territory for all of us.
See also: territory, unfamiliar

unfamiliar waters

A situation or circumstance that is foreign, unclear, or unfamiliar and which may be dangerous or difficult as a result. We're starting to get into unfamiliar waters exploiting these tax loopholes. If we aren't careful, the government may crack down on us hard! John has always kept himself closed off from family members, so his real feelings have been unfamiliar waters for all of us.
See also: unfamiliar, water
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

unfamiliar territory

an area of knowledge unknown to the speaker. We are in unfamiliar territory and I don't know the answer. Astronomy is unfamiliar territory for me, and I cannot answer any questions about the stars.
See also: territory, unfamiliar
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • murky
  • murky waters
  • murky/uncharted waters
  • in a sticky situation
  • mixed up in (something)
  • on a sticky wicket
  • batting on a sticky wicket
  • be in a sticky situation
  • be (batting) on a sticky wicket
  • a sticky situation
References in periodicals archive
It's designed to help troops get back up to speed with the aircraft and replicate the experience of working in unfamiliar terrains and locations.
The insane love by the French to this type of food is forcing market competition to produce various unfamiliar products that are made with truffles, like Cake Truffles, Honey Truffles, Cheese truffle, and salt truffle.
FEU head coach George Pascua said NU 'was an unfamiliar team' to them with the Lady Bulldogs fielding in just 11 players six of whom are rookies including Cagande.
In these instances it is possible that the cable-cars can become overloaded as those unfamiliar with their use will also be unfamiliar with the optimal load.
FOR anyone unfamiliar with the original cult movie and stage musical, Hairspray E4, tomorrow, 2pm) is the tale of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager in Sixties Baltimore who dreams of appearing on a dance show.
MOSKOVA (CyHAN)- Russia's Northern Fleet kicked off tactical drills in the Arctic aimed at assessing the troops' readiness to operate on unfamiliar terrain.
Unfamiliar chimps and baboons failed to elicit yawning.
Washington, Nov 14 ( ANI ): Researchers, who tried to answer why it take longer to recognise a familiar face when seen in an unfamiliar setting, have found that part of the reason comes down to the processes that our brain performs when learning and recognising faces.
In May's Accident Probe, "Aiming To Please," a significant procedure was omitted in the Unfamiliar Arrivals sidebar.
Science Curious Connections--A group of researchers conducted a series of experiments to evaluate what they label "behavioral syndromes" of young largemouth bass.* This term refers to a set of behaviors that typify certain individuals--in this case the tendency of bass to explore a novel environment or attack unfamiliar prey.
Research published in Avian Biology Research shows that pigeons can reliably discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar humans, and that they use facial features to tell people apart.
The free Choose Well app can help students who are unfamiliar with the place they have come to study in.
Eblex said this is often caused by mixing unfamiliar animals during transportation and in lairage, which can lead to fighting and mounting.
Mrs Ellison, College Director said: The course expects the students to work in unfamiliar groups and in unfamiliar situations.