Idioms

a narrow escape

This page is about the idiom a narrow escape

Meaning

If you have a narrow escape, you survive a dangerous situation, but only just.

For example

  • He had a narrow escape when he fell off his motorbike. If he'd fallen off a second earlier, he would have been killed by the truck that had just passed by.

  • Ken nearly lost all his money in the stock market crash, but he made a narrow escape thanks to a friend who told him to sell off his shares the day before it happened.

Quick Quiz

While many people died in the explosion at the market, my cousin had a narrow escape because

a. he'd gone to live in a different city

b. he'd left the market two minutes before

c. he died the next day in hospital
a) he'd gone to live in a different city b) he'd left the market two minutes before c) he died the next day in hospital

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Common English Idioms

Contributor: Matt Errey