Etymology Journal ยท O
Out of the woods
Meaning
- The period of greatest danger has passed. It is used to indicate that recovery or success is finally likely.
Relieved, hopeful
Used in a sentence
- The doctor says the patient is out of the woods and should recover soon.
- We have survived the worst of the budget cuts, but we are not quite out of the woods yet.
- Once we finish this audit, we will finally be out of the woods.
The backstory
This likely relates to the historical danger of being lost in a dark forest where predators or accidents were common. Once you were out of the woods, you were safe.
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