like Bambi on ice
- idiom
- UK
:
como Bambi sobre hielo
- After a few weeks of lessons, she no longer moved like Bambi on ice on the ski slopes.
Examples
-
You look like Bambi on ice, boy!
-
When he tried to dance, he looked like Bambi on ice, struggling to keep his balance.
-
The toddler took his first steps and wobbled like Bambi on ice, unsure of his footing.
Synonyms
1
9.9
Moving in sudden, awkward jerks
1
9.6
In a clumsy way, especially when moving or singing
1
7.0
Move or speak in an awkward, unsteady way as if about to fall
In a stiff, jerky way with sudden, clumsy movements
With sudden, unsteady movements that make you lose balance
Antonyms
How Clumsy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a simple simile whose constituents (Bambi as an inexperienced/deer figure + ice as a slippery surface, linked by 'like/on') create an image of awkward, unsteady movement, so a learner who knows the words can often infer the intended meaning. However, it depends on the cultural reference to Bambi and a figurative mapping (newborn deer awkward on ice), which is not purely compositional or universally known, making the expression only partially predictable to B1 learners.
Etymology
Like Bambi on ice comes from the image of the young deer Bambi slipping and wobbling on ice with long thin legs. That's why it describes someone 'moving in an awkward or uncoordinated way'.