🌲 out of the woods
Concrete Meaning
Free from danger, difficulty, or a critical situation. (This is almost always used in the negative form: "not out of the woods yet").
💬 Context & Examples
Used heavily in business recovery, crisis management, or medicine to indicate that while things are improving, the threat isn't fully gone.
- "Our Q3 profits are finally up, but with the upcoming tax changes, our business isn't entirely out of the woods."
- "The patient's fever has broken, but the doctors say he is not out of the woods yet."
🧠 Pattern Challenge
Test Yourself
Why are "the woods" used as a metaphor for danger in the English language?
Show Answer
Historically, deep forests were dark, confusing to navigate (easy to get lost), and full of predators. Being "out" of them meant safety!