October is the month of Halloween and everything scary. To celebrate, we have some idioms with scared. You can use these expressions all year: spiders, heights, bugs, failure . . . there are plenty of things to be afraid of, even when it is not Halloween!
Expressions with “scared”
Scared to death
Definition: very afraid
Example: I am scared to death of spiders.
Scare off someone/something (phrasal verb)
Definition: to make something go away by frightening it
Example: My Halloween decorations scared off the young kids in the neighborhood.
Example: You can scare off birds by putting shiny objects in trees.
Scared stiff
Definition: so scared that you can’t move
Example: We went to the Balboa Haunted Trail, and I was scared stiff when we had to walk through the haunted bus!
Scare the hell out of someone
Definition: to scare someone really badly
Example: My roommate scared the hell out of me last night. I didn’t know she was home and then I turned around, and there she was!
What really scares you? Do you have any fears that make you scared stiff? If so, tell us on our Facebook page!
Would you like some more Halloween English lessons? Check out our Synonyms for Scary and Halloween Vocabulary post for more!