dodge a bullet
idiom

- to narrowly avoid an unwelcome, harmful, or disastrous outcome or occurrence

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

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Etymology: Dodge, meaning to move back and forth or to get out of the way of something, is of obscure origin but may be related to the Scottish dodd "to jog." Bullet is from the Middle French "boulette," which refers to a cannonball or small ball. Boulette is a diminutive of boule "ball," which in turn derives from the Latin bulla, "round thing, knob." Boulette is also the origin of Bulette, a northern Germany word for a beef patty (hamburger!).

Superman is capable of dodging bullets (or at least outrunning them), but the rest of us "normal" humans may find this a difficult task. Thus in a figurative sense, dodging a bullet means avoiding a problem or dangerous situation.

A student who nearly fails an exam, but in the end gets a passing grade might describe this as dodging a bullet. Someone who stops his car just short of a red light might say to himself, "Whew! I just dodged a bullet." Or the husband who remembers his wedding anniversary at the last minute and runs to the florist to buy a bouquet of flowers would likely consider this "dodging a bullet."

Other than dodging bullets, there are a couple of other things we can do with them:

- bite (bite the bullet) = To make yourself do something or accept something difficult or unpleasant. This probably stems from when army doctors gave patients a bullet to put between their teeth when they performed painful operations without drugs. (We just have to bite the bullet and find ways to cut our costs)

- sweat (sweat bullets) = To be very worried or frightened. This stems from the idea of droplets of sweat being shaped like bullets. (I was sweating bullets before my presentation to the board of management)

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SYNONYMS

close call, narrow escape, close shave, near miss

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today, say something like:

"Most of us can remember a personal experience where we just avoided disaster and DODGED A BULLET."