Today’s idiom is to “dodge a bullet”, and it is used when we want to talk about a situation in which we didn’t get something we wanted and then we find out that we were lucky not to get it. For example:
I really wanted that job at ABC Company, but I didn’t get it. Anyway, I just found out that the guy who got the job has been transferred to Mongolia! I guess I really dodged a bullet.
I know you wanted to date George, but he wasn’t interested in you. I think you dodged a bullet because I heard he treats his girlfriends really badly.
A: My wife and I wanted to buy this house, but we didn’t get it.
B: Oh really? You guys really dodged a bullet. This house needed a lot of repairs, and it cost me a lot of money.
I couldn’t get time off work to go camping last weekend, but it was raining all weekend so I guess I dodged a bullet.
In case you’re not sure, the word “dodge” means to move quickly away from something so that it doesn’t hit you. We sometimes use this word when talking about a game called dodgeball. This is a game we sometimes played in school in which people would throw a ball at the people on the opposite team and, if they hit them, they were out of the game. Therefore, the people had to dodge out of the way of the ball.
mariamelon Said:
on July 25, 2011 at 8:59 am
Thanks! This was helpful 🙂