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What is an idiom
What is an idiom
What is an idiom?
Hello lovely students! Have you ever heard a sentence on a TV show or film you were watching and thought that sentence makes no
sense? Has one of your friends ever said a phrase and you had no idea how to respond? This means that, these phrases were probably
idioms.
There are many idioms in the English language. They do not have a literal meaning so they should not be taken literally.
They have figurative meanings, like metaphors and proverbs. People assume idioms and proverbs are the same. However, idioms differ
slightly from proverbs as proverbs tend to give some sort of moral advice. Idioms tend not to.
An example of a popular English proverb is an apple a day keeps the doctor away. This means if you eat healthily, you won’t get ill.
Eating an apple a day, may keep the doctor away, but it isn’t an idiom
Idioms exist in other languages too. They are not English-language specific. Yet, it is almost impossible for idioms in the English
language to have the exact same translation as idioms in another language.
This is why it is important to learn about them in the language of a specific country or even a specific region of that same country
because sometimes different regions have different sayings.
In English, idioms are divided into four categories: pure idioms, binomial idioms, partial idioms and prepositional idioms.
Let’s take a look below at some idiomatic expressions and their meanings. You’ll be incorporating them into your everyday speech in next
to no time.
Pure idioms
These idioms express sayings where the words have no literal resemblance to the phrase in its overall meaning. For example, you
wouldn’t necessarily do or have done the actions mentioned in these idioms. There are many idioms in this category.
5) Down to the wire – a situation whose outcome is not known until the last moment
The count for who will win the general election is down to the wire.
6) Throw a spanner in the works – to do something that prevents a plan from succeeding
Josh threw a spanner in the works when he told me he did not want to marry me anymore.
I don’t think Jules should have had that last drink. He was three sheets to the wind by the end of the party.
8) Extend an olive branch – to make an offer of peace
After years of fighting, Kat finally extended an olive branch to Anna and apologised.
Fun fact: this idiom has a lot of rumoured origins, but the most popular theory is that it came from a time when oil painting
portraits were in demand. Since painters would charge on the size of the painting, it was more expensive to have your arms
and legs included.
People always assume it rains cats and dogs in the UK, but actually, the rain is usually light.
11) Barking up the wrong tree – a mistaken line of thought, usually in accusation of someone else
Linda thought Harry stole her trophy but he didn’t. It was Annabella. I told her she was barking up the wrong tree.
Fun fact: hunting with packs of dogs used to be very common. The dogs would often chase animals up trees. However, they
did not realise the animal had escaped and continued barking. Thus, they were barking up the wrong tree.
Carolyn invited me over for dinner. That happens once in a blue moon.
Fun fact: blue moons are very rare and happen once every two to three years.
13) Go back to the drawing board – to plan something again because the first plan failed
He didn’t like Sid’s idea for the event so he told him to go back to the drawing board.
14) Piece of cake – piece of cake means when a task is easy
I convinced Georgina to stay here and she has. It was a piece of cake.
15) Not the sharpest tool in the shed – to describe a person who is unintelligent
He was not the sharpest tool in the shed. He thought Rome was the capital of Greece.
16) Put all one’s eggs in one basket – when you put all of your effort and resources into something or someone so you have no
alternatives if what you are trying to achieve fails
I put all my eggs in one basket because I have put all my savings into England winning the World Cup. I hope they win!
Binomial idioms
This particular group of idioms may express either a disconnect and opposition or a link between two words. They are often joined by the
conjunction and or or. These are used frequently and are common idioms. Let’s take a look at some examples
Though Hannah and Abigail are twins, they are chalk and cheese. Abigail is extroverted and Hannah isn’t.
Fun fact: there are multiple theories on where this comes from, but many say it comes from the 13th century when
cheesemongers used to add chalk to their cheese to add more weight to it. Over time, people realised this was happening and
used this phrase to distinguish between good and bad cheese sellers.
2) Odds and ends – small, unimportant items that you may or may not need/want
I have packed most of my things for the holiday in the suitcase. I have a few odds and ends though, like my book light and an extra pair
of flip-flops.
After his jungle adventure, Rick was skin and bones due to having one meal a day.
If we add this word to our company slogan, it could be make or break for us.
That meeting was short and sweet. It only lasted five minutes, but it was uplifting.
8) Live and learn – used when someone learns something from a particularly unpleasant and surprising experience
9) Wear and tear – the damage that has been done to an item after long use of it
There’s a lot of wear and tear on my old jeans now. There are holes everywhere in them.
Italian cooking. Fresh ingredients with pasta for italian cuisine. Cheese variety on chalk board
Partial idioms
These are idioms that are so well integrated into the language by native speakers and learners that they become shortened, usually by
mentioning the first two words. Yet, people will still know their meaning.
Partial
Full idiom Meaning Example
idiom
Birds of a
Birds of a People who are alike tend to do
feather, flock Those two girls are the definition of birds of a feather.
feather things together.
together.
Cross that “The caterers might cancel because of the situation.”
Cross that You don’t need to deal with a
bridge once we
bridge situation until it happens.
get to it. “Well, we’ll cross that bridge.“
Fun fact: the idiom ‘to kill two birds with one stone’ comes from a time when birds used to be hunted with a slingshot and stone.
Prepositional idioms
The last group of idioms are not entirely figurative language, but they are nonetheless classed as idioms. They have fairly literal
meanings but not quite and they are used in everyday language.
Prepositional idioms are phrases in which the preposition used changes the meaning of the phrase in a way that is not intuitive. Let’s look
at some idiom examples in this category.
2) Agree to – to accept
Mara agreed to the new salary
5) Make up – when you reconcile after an argument, to invent a story and to compensate for something missed
Dora and Viv have made up now after not talking to each other for five weeks.
I am sorry I missed Christmas this year. I will make up for it next year.
6) stand for – to support a cause or principle and to refuse to tolerate another person’s behaviour
7) stand by – to be present when something bad is happening but don’t take any action, to remain loyal to someone and to
abide by something promised
9) get one down – when something, someone or a situation makes you feel depressed or demoralised
10) boost + object pronoun + up – when someone needs to increase their confidence or morality