
I recently heard someone (on TV) use the expression, โIn the weeds,โ which was an idiom I had never heard before. Based on the context, I thought I had a pretty good idea what was meant, but I decided to look it up. It got me thinking about a post I wrote ages ago about horse idiomsโฆso I tried to compile a list of idioms that involve plants (weeds, flowers, grass, and trees)…Hereโs what blossomed:
- In the weeds โ to be so busy/behind schedule/overwhelmed that it would be impossible to catch up.
- Down the garden path โ to mislead someone.
- Nip in the bud โ to stop something before it has a chance to get started.
- Pushing up daisies โ a euphemism for dead (and buried).
- Stop and smell the roses โ take time to enjoy the simple, beautiful things.
- The grass is always greener in someone elseโs backyard โ the tendency to romanticize what we do not have.
- Babe in the woods โ a person who is out of his/her depth.
- Out of the woods โ to survive a dangerous or difficult situation.
- Cream of the crop โ the best part of a group.
- Out on a limb โ to be in a dangerous or weak position without any support.
- Branch out โ to try something new.
- Beat around the bush โ the opposite of getting to the point.
- Canโt see the forest for the trees โ to be so bogged down by details, you miss the big picture.
- Come out smelling like a rose โ to come out of a potentially bad situation unscathed (kind of like, โthe proof of the pudding is in the eatingโ). It reminds me of one of my favorite phrases/song titles, “Everything’s coming up roses,” which I’ve adapted to “Everything’s coming up Josie!”
- Money doesnโt grow on trees โ a reminder that money is hard to come by and once spent, it will not regenerate itself.
- Barking up the wrong tree โ to be wrong about someone or something.
- Fresh as a daisy โ fresh, energetic. Warning: do not use this idiom or your writing will be anything but…
- Gilding the lily โ to decorate something that is already decorative.
- Make hay while the sun shines โ to take advantage of favorable conditions to get a job done (in other words, “there’s no time like the present”).
- Make like a tree and get out of here (I mean, make like a tree and leave) โ okay, so this one isnโt strictly an idiomโฆitโs more like a bad pun…courtesy of Biff from Back to the Future, and I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.
Can you add any fun, colorful, flora expressions to the list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!



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