Learn English – Idiom to mean “one must avoid going into dangerous situations”

expressionsidioms

In my native language, there's an idiom that someone warn you not to go into a dangerous situation when you're sure you'll get into trouble but you still feel like doing it. For instance, making jokes about your boss at work because he/she has shamed you in public. One of your co-workers might say:

Don't play with lion's tail!

Is there an English idiom for such a situation?

Best Answer

I have an idiom and a proverb (saying) for you!

to play with fire

  • to do something that could cause you great trouble later
  • Example: "Don't you know you're playing with fire when you get involved with someone who's already married?"

Source: Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (via thefreedictionary.com)

There is a common saying using the same imagery:

If you play with fire, you get burned.

  • If you do something dangerous, you will get hurt.
  • Example: Joe said, "I have no sympathy for race-car drivers who get injured. They should know that if you play with fire, you get burned."
  • Example: My mother always told us that experimenting with hard drugs was playing with fire.

Source: McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (via thefreedictionary.com)

Idioms such as "to dance with death" and phrases like "there will be hell to pay" (or "there will be the devil to pay") are a bit too dramatic in this context.

I'm sure there is more, but I'll let others do some work as well.

Related Topic