August is the hottest month of the year, and it is also the most common time for people to be off on summer vacation. During the dogs days of summer, many people go into vacation mode. Some people like to become beach bums and soak up some sun, also known as catching some rays. In the high season, the go-getters try to do everything under the sun, from sports activities and firing up the grill to picnics and road trips. Some might say that they are chasing rainbows, trying to do so many things. Adventurous people who like to travel on a shoestring will go off the beaten path, come rain or shine. When they return, they might try to make a splash as they regale you with stories of extreme experiences, but remember: they might be full of hot air! Others don’t want to get a touch of the sun or get all hot and bothered; they prefer to beat the heat and stay cool as a cucumber inside. Elderly people will warn everyone to be safe with food and water so as not to get a bit of the summer complaint.
It’s always interesting to see which colleagues return to the office in autumn with a sunny disposition and sun-kissed skin. Meanwhile, kids often return to school having spent the summer sun-drenched and walking on sunshine, but they may feel like fish out of water after having experienced summer slide – and I don’t mean the waterslides! You see, teachers in America don’t assign vacation homework unless they are ready to swim against the tide because many parents think that doing homework is like watching grass grow, so students forget a lot of information during the long summer vacation. Instead, they embrace the midsummer madness and make hay while the sun shines. The stress falls away like water off a duck’s back, and they become rays of sunshine again. Older students, especially the social butterflies, may even take a shine to someone and have a summer fling. Others may try to have their day in the sun at sports camps, music camps, or other extracurricular activities. But then classes start and they’re thrown in the deep end again, feeling like a cat on a hot tin roof. They have to summer and winter their new classmates, but by the Indian summer, most students have discovered who their fair-weather friends are.
With rising summer temperatures, enjoying the summer isn’t always a day at the beach. Visitors to New York or Pennsylvania on a hot day might hear someone say that it’s hotter than Dutch love out there. Wherever your vacation takes you, stay cool out there; it’s a scorcher!
Summer Idioms:
- A day at the beach = easy
- A drop in the ocean = insignificant
- A fair-weathered friend = a friendly acquaintance who is not loyal and goes away during difficult times
- A place in the sun / one’s day in the sun – attention or credit for your qualities
- A scorcher = a particularly hot day
- A touch of the sun = sunstroke
- Beach bum = someone who spends a lot of time at the beach, usually lying down and relaxing
- (to) Beat the heat = to avoid the heat of summer; to make oneself cooler or go to a place to stay cool, especially during hot days in summer.
- (to) Catch some rays = to go outside in the sunlight
- Chasing rainbows = to pursue impossible dreams
- (be) Cool as a cucumber = to have a calm and composed attitude
- Dog days of summer = the hottest days of the summer
- Everything under the sun = everything possible
- (be) Full of hot air = to talk a lot, but have nothing of great value to add to the conversation
- (to) Fire up the grill = to barbecue foods
- (to) Go off the beaten path = to do something unusual, to do something different from what most people are doing
- “Happy is the bride the sun shines on” = old proverb saying that if the sun shines on your wedding day, you will have good luck
- High season = the peak season for travel, shopping, and other economic activity
- (be) Hot and bothered = to be physically hot, sweaty, and flustered OR to have a strong romantic embarrassed feeling if you are around some you have a crush on OR to feel worried, angry, or anxious about an event.
- Indian summer = a hot, summerlike period that occurs in mid-autumn
- Like a cat on a hot tin roof = very nervous, trapped, in an uncomfortable situation
- Like a fish out of water = to feel out of place, to be in the wrong environment, to be uncomfortable
- Like watching grass grow = slow and boring
- Like water off a duck’s back = to leave easily, not to stick, not to affect someone
- (to) Make a splash = to attract a lot of attention in an exciting way
- (to) Make hay while the sun shines = to make the most of a favorable situation while it lasts
- Midsummer madness = foolish/reckless behaviour which seems to escalate at the height of summer
- Off the beaten path = an isolated or quiet destination, away from popular locations
- (be) Off on vacation = to take time off of work and travel on vacation
- Ray of sunshine = a positive, exuberant person
- Social butterfly = someone who is very social and spends time with many people, flitting from one person to the next
- Summer and winter = To monitor one’s behavior or abilities for a sufficiently long period of time
- Summer complaint (old-fashioned) = Any severe gastrointestinal infection, but especially food poisoning or cholera, typically contracted by children in the summertime.
- Summer fling = a short-term romantic relationship during the summer
- Summer slide = people forgetting what they learned at school when they relax during the summer vacation
- Sun-drenched = getting a lot of sunshine
- Sun-kissed = tanned
- Sunny disposition = a happy, cheerful attitude
- Swim against the tide = act against the culturally normal opinion or tendency
- Thrown in the deep end = to be put in a new situation or under pressure, without proper preparation or introduction
- Travel on a shoestring = to travel very cheaply, spending as little money as possible
- Vacation mode = to mentally disconnect from work
- Walking on sunshine = very happy