to get one's fingers burnt
1
7.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
quemarse
- She learned the hard way that if you don't read contracts carefully, you can get your fingers burnt.
Examples
-
Those Corporations that have a finger in every pie... Will get their fingers burnt With us.
-
If you invest in too many risky stocks, you might get your fingers burnt.
-
Little boys who play with fire get their fingers burned.
-
He was warned about the dangers of the scheme, but he went ahead anyway and ended up getting his fingers burnt.
Synonyms
1
8.1
Lose money or get hurt because of a mistake you make
Antonyms
How Harmed
100
3.2
- Informal
12
5.8
- Informal
1
7.8
138
5.0
- Informal
1
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of burning fingers, so the link between the constituents ('finger' + 'burnt') and suffering harm from a risky action is metaphorically motivated and partly inferable. However, the specific conventional meaning 'to suffer negative consequences from taking a risk' requires recognizing this figurative extension and may not be fully predictable for an average B1 learner with no prior exposure.
Etymology
Get one's fingers burnt may come from the simple image of touching something hot: you get your fingers burnt, it hurts and teaches you to be more careful. So, the phrase means 'to suffer bad results after taking a risk'.