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Synonyms

on thin ice

Idioms  

  1. In a precarious or risky position, as in After failing the midterm, he was on thin ice with his math teacher. This metaphor is often rounded out as skate on thin ice, as in He knew he was skating on thin ice when he took his rent money with him to the racetrack. This idiom, which alludes to the danger that treading on thin ice will cause it to break, was first used figuratively by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Prudence (1841): “In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had been on thin ice within the administration for some time.

From Slate • Mar. 7, 2026

If buying wipes out all savings, they’ll be skating on thin ice.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

Only six months ago, the pair was on thin ice after a series of underperforming films, including Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller “Mickey 17” and the Robert De Niro-led mob movie “The Alto Knights.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2025

Obita had been on thin ice for much of the match, and a second booking seemed inevitable as he charged carelessly around the pitch, finally coming for a block on Rabbi Matondo.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2024

One time David, another of my brothers, skated on thin ice that gave way.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.