idiom · informal
on the rocks
UK/ɒn ðə rɒks/US/ɑn ðə rɑks/on·the·ROCKS
speakingtask2
describing a relationship that is experiencing serious problems
Examples
“After months of arguing, their marriage was on the rocks.”
“The company's finances are on the rocks after the scandal.”
“They seem fine now, but last year the relationship was definitely on the rocks.”
Band 8 sentence
“They tried counselling for months, but frankly their marriage was still on the rocks.”
Collocations
- be on the rocks
- a relationship on the rocks
Word family
rocky (adjective) adjectiverock the boat (idiom) idiom
Common mistakes
on rocks→on the rocks
in the rocks→on the rocks
Say it for a higher band
5in trouble→6rocky→7+on the rocks
Synonyms
be in trouble
Easily confused
rocky
“Their relationship has been rocky for a while.”
Related words
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In Relationships
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