10 Halloween Idioms And Expressions

Halloween or Hallowe’en is celebrated on 31st October. 

Originally it was a pagan festival when the spirits of the dead were believed to re-visit this mortal world. To scare them off, people wore scary masks and costumes.

The festival is said to have come from Ireland where it is widely celebrated this week. The illuminated carved pumpkins are displayed on the window sills. Children dress up as ghosts, zombies, skeletons, witches and other scary characters. They go around the neighbourhood, knock on the doors saying “Trick or treat!” and get sweets, nuts and fruits.

To scare you off, here is some spooky Halloween vocabulary.

Meaning: to have an embarrassing secret about your past, something that a person tries hard to conceal

Example:

The company did not disclose information to its customers because they had a skeleton in the closet.

Meaning: abandoned place (village, town or city) where nobody lives

Example:

There are ghost towns all over the world.

Meaning: to do something deliberately in a ruthless manner, never give it a thought

Example:

A man has killed a kitten in cold blood.

Meaning: to do something unkind or unpleasant to someone, particularly when they are weak

Example:

The manager stuck the knife in when he told me that my hours had been reduced at work.

Meaning: to do something unkind or unpleasant to someone, particularly when they are weak

Example:

The manager stuck the knife in when he told me that my hours had been reduced at work.

Meaning: to suspect that something is wrong or something dishonest is happening

Example:

He smelled a rat and passed the letter on to the investigation committee.

Meaning: to get so scared that you are not able to move

Example:

I was scared stiff when I heard noises in my house last night.

Meaning: a campaign against a person or group who have different or unpopular views

Example:

There was a lot of witch-hunting in the ruling party.

Meaning: no chance at all

Example:

Jason didn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of winning the race.

Meaning: to frighten or to scare someone a lot

Example:

You scared the pants off me, I wasn’t expecting to see you in the garden.

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