Under the weather

Idiom: to be/feel under the weather

First Example:

Alan: Oh man! It’s midnight and I have to drive 100 miles to my house! I shouldn’t have drunk so much! I am not feeling good!!!

Jeremy: Alan, you shouldn’t drive. You can spend a night at my house. Many fatal accidents are caused by drivers who are under the weather.

Meaning: This idiom is use to explain a feeling of sickness, sadness, lack of energy or hangover. From the example, we see that Alan is not feeling good. He might have headache, feel nauseous or have hammering sound in his ears. It’s all caused by drinking too much.

Second Example:

Teacher: Ayaka, why are you so late today and why didn’t you do your homework?

Ayaka: Tim, I am feeling a bit under the weather today. I could not concentrate on my homework and I overslept this morning.

Teacher: Yeah, you don’t look good. You should go home and take care of yourself.  

Ayaka, the student, could not do her homework and had a hard time waking up in the morning because she was not feeling good. When the teacher said “ you don’t look good”, he meant that she looked sick, not that she didn't look pretty.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Speaking Savvy," which is used in the Level 5 Speaking classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/