able to breathe (easy/easily/freely) again
1. Literally, capable of inhaling and exhaling without difficulty. Once the climbers returned from the top of the mountain, they felt like they were finally able to breathe freely again. After using my inhaler, I was able to breathe easily again. I have pretty bad allergies, so I can't wait till spring is over and I can breathe easy again!
2. Figuratively, recuperating from a busy or stressful period of time. After a long, hectic summer, many parents feel like they are able to breathe easy again once their kids are back in school. With your thesis defense finished, are you able to breathe easily again? All week, I was worried about having to give that presentation, so I'm able to breathe freely again now that it's done!
breathe easily
To relax or feel relieved, as after a period of stress or worry. I can finally breathe easily now that I'm done my term paper—I had been working on that thing all day every day for weeks! All week, I was worried about having to give that presentation, so I can breathe easily now that it's done! I'm glad Dad's surgery went well, but I won't be able to breathe easily until he's fully recovered.
breathe easy
To relax or feel relieved, as after a period of stress or worry. With your thesis defense finished, you can finally breathe easy! All week, I was worried about having to give that presentation, so I can breathe easy again now that it's done! I'm glad Dad's surgery went well, but I won't be able to breathe easy until he's fully recovered.
breathe freely
To relax or feel relieved, as after a period of stress or worry. I can finally breathe freely now that I'm done my term paper—I had been working on that thing all day every day for weeks! All week, I was worried about having to give that presentation, so I can breathe freely again now that it's done! I'm glad Dad's surgery went well, but I won't be able to breathe freely until he's fully recovered.
nothing is given so freely as advice
proverb People love to give you advice about the correct way to do something or how you should approach a problem, whether you want that advice or not. A: "My mother-in-law never comes to the house to help us with the kids, though she's plenty happy to tell me how I ought to be raising them." B: "Yeah, nothing's given so freely as advice."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
breathe easy
to assume a relaxed state after a stressful period. After this crisis is over, I'll be able to breathe easy again. He won't be able to breathe easy until he pays off his debts.
Nothing is given so freely as advice.
Prov. People will give you advice more willingly than they give you anything else. Although no one in my family was willing to give me a loan, they all had suggestions about how I could get the money from elsewhere. Nothing is given so freely as advice. Don't hesitate to ask people what they think you ought to do. Nothing is given so freely as advice.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
breathe easy
Also, breathe easily or freely . Relax, feel relieved from anxiety, stress, or tension. For example, Now that exams are over with, I can breathe easy, or Whenever I'm back in the mountains, I can breathe freely again. This idiom originally (late 1500s) was put as breathe again, implying that one had stopped breathing (or held one's breath) while feeling anxious or nervous. Shakespeare had it in King John (4:2): "Now I breathe again aloft the flood." The variant dates from the first half of the 1800s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.