Halloween vocabulary

We're just a few days from Halloween and I thought I'd bring some idioms and words somehow related to spooky and scary things. But here's a heads up: Even though they include some of the most common Halloween related words, like skeleton, blood, witch, sometimes they have a completely different meaning. Therefore, you can use those idioms and words at any time of the year. Let's get to them!

1. Not a cat in hell’s chance – no chance at all

Ex: We didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of winning that contract.

2. Stick the knife in – to do or say something very unpleasant or unkind to someone

Ex: The Sales Director really stuck the knife in when he told Tom that his sales pitch was the worst he’d ever seen.

3. Stab in the back – to stab someone in the back means to betray them

Ex: After all I did for him, he stabbed me in the back when he told all those lies about me.

4. Skeleton in the Cupboard – a scandal that is kept secret

Ex: James has a few skeletons in his cupboard and is terrified that he will be found out.

5. Skeleton staff – the fewest number of people needed in an office

Ex: We always operate with a skeleton staff over the Christmas period.

6. Scared Stiff – so scared that you cannot move

Ex. I am scared stiff of walking on ice.

7. Scare the pants off someone – to frighten someone a lot

Ex: The film “Nightmare on Elm Street” scared the pants off me.

  

8. Make the blood run cold – to totally scare you

Ex: The screams in the woods made my blood run cold.

9. In cold blood – to act in cold blood is to do something without any emotion and deliberately

Ex: The victim was shot in cold blood.

10. A witch–hunt – an investigation carried out under the pretext of uncovering illegal activity but is actually used to harass people with different views.

Ex: The Government has been accused of carrying out a witch-hunt on small businesses.