roll with the punches
/ˌrəʊl wɪð ðə ˈpʌntʃɪz/NEUTRAL · C1
Meaning
to cope calmly with a series of difficulties
Examples
- 1Running a small café means learning to roll with the punches.
- 2When the airline lost our bags, the kids rolled with the punches and wore my T-shirts all week.
- 3Our first year in the new country was full of setbacks, but we rolled with the punches and settled in.
- 4How do you roll with the punches when plans keep changing at the last minute?
- 5Mia lost her job and her flat in the same month, yet she rolled with the punches and kept smiling.
Grammar
Only roll changes form: rolled, rolling. Keep the punches plural, with the.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about sports
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →go the distanceto keep going until the end of something difficultwin hands downto beat everyone else very easilyplay ballto agree to help in the way someone wantsthe gloves are offpeople are ready to fight or argue without holding backthe ball is in your courtit is now your turn to act or decideget the ball rollingto make something start happening
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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