dodging a bullet
Avoiding certain disaster
Dodging a bullet is narrowly avoiding something harmful or unpleasant—a bad relationship, a poor investment, a disastrous decision.
The image is of literal gunfire, but the phrase almost always describes metaphorical escapes: I really dodged a bullet when that job offer fell through.
Often used retrospectively, after learning how badly things could have gone.
- duckWaterbird that quacks
- escapeFlight from captivity
- perilSerious threat of harm
- serendipityAccidental fortunate discovery
- evadeEscape by cunning
reprieve · thankfulness · relief · sigh of relief · close call · foresight · providence · circumvent · gratitude · outmaneuver · near miss · close shave · split second · life or death · fortune · planning · hazard · preparedness
dodging a bulletfacing the music
Accepting responsibility for actions
paying the price · falling victim · getting caught · taking one for the team · worst-case scenario
dodging a bulletbad luck
Unfavorable chance events
misfortune · jinxed · cursed · ill-fated
dodging a bullettaking the bait
Falling for a trick
falling for it · signing one's own death warrant · backing the wrong horse · going down with the ship
dodge, dodges, dodged, dodger, dodgers, bullet, bullets, bulleted, bulleting