Wafer-thin ice

Question

A: This Aunt MariIyn, is she coming to the wedding?B: Wafer-thin ice.Does it mean very little chance?Thank  you.

Nef · Accepted Answer

I don't know! (I'm not familiar with that response to a question like the first one.) But I'll take a guess.

I think you are on the right track. Wafer-thin ice is very fragile and can't be counted on to support much weight or stress. This might say that whether Aunt Marilyn attends or not is very uncertain and could go either way. (Maybe she'll come, maybe she won't. There might be a implication that the situation is a delicate one.)

Sometimes people talk about walking/treading/being/stepping on thin ice. This is considered very risky, since the ice could break and the person could fall (perhaps into very cold water). This can be literal, but it also can be figurative. For instance, an employee might be "walking on thin ice" at work, because a boss doesn't approve of some things he or she does.

Likeguslee · Answer

Wafer-thin ice, as explained, is very thin, almost transparent. Does it mean very little chance? Definitely. It's ghost of a chance that Aunt Marilyn will come to the wedding.

Anonymous · Answer

I believe that when Monica says "wafer thin ice" she means Chandler is hanging by a thread because he is obssessing over the cousin. He asked if the aunt was going to the wedding because she said the cousin looks exactly like Aunt Marilyn!

Delmobile · Answer

Anonymous must be a big Friends fan...I was able to find a http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9151/719.htmthat includes your quote (is there anything that's not on the Internet?) and yes, the ice here is the kind you stand, or step, on, risking falling in.

Monica has already indicated to Chandler that she's upset about his ogling another woman. She then says the woman looks like her Aunt Marilyn, and Chandler promptly asks, in a halting way, if Aunt Marilyn will be at the wedding. Monica is barking out "Wafer-thin ice!" as shorthand for "You were already on thin ice with me, and it's getting thinner all the time!"

Anonymous · Answer

yes, i think, you are correct, Monica was trying to say that their wedding is on thin ice (susceptible to call-off) and getting thinner e.g. "wafer" by Chandler's mischiefs.

Wafer-thin ice

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