Here's an idiom for you to try out this week in your daily speaking practice!
We use this with the verb to be or to skate; someone is on thin ice or someone is skating on thin ice.
Imagine you are skating on a frozen lake and you realise that ice underneath your skates is very thin and if you take one step further the ice will crack and you will fall into the lake.
It means somebody is very close to a bad consequence of their actions because they are in a very risky situation. It can mean that they have been repeatedly doing something wrong or breaking rules, for example, and they are one more action away from something really bad like losing their job, being punished by parents or really upsetting someone / making someone really angry.
Let’s have a look at some examples:
She’s really angry, you’re skating on thin ice; one more argument and I think she’ll leave you
I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you’re skating on thin ice already.
They can’t afford to have any more problems with the boss; they’re already on thin ice.
Neither formal nor informal, you can use this idiom in lots of different situations, however, it’s quite a serious idiom as it’s connected to something negative happening, rather than a sarcastic or funny idiom.
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