IDIOMATIC

EXPRESSIONS
ENGLISH 8 (AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE)
 WHAT IS AN IDIOM?

• IDIOM COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD

“IDIOS” WHICH MEANS PERSONAL.
• IS A PHRASE OR AN EXPRESSION THAT HAS A
FIGURATIVE, OR SOMETIMES LITERAL,
MEANING.
PIC-CHARADES (PICTURE +
CHARADES)
•CLASSIFY THE MEANING OF THE
GIVEN ILLUSTRATIONS TO FORM
A PHRASE OR SENTENCE.
Put your foot in your mouth
I have a butterflies in my stomach
Cash Cow
Time flies
Walking in the air
Cat pull your tongue
Raining cats and dogs
Couch Potato
When pigs fly
As cool as Cucumber
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:
• WHAT HAVE YOU NOTICED ABOUT THE
ILLUSTRATED PICTURES?
• WHAT DOES THIS PICTURE MEANS?
• HOW DO IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CAN ENHANCE
THE VOCABULARY OF THE WRITERS OF ENGLISH?
• DOES IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS LITERALLY DONE
IN REAL LIFE? WHY OR WHY NOT?
THERE ARE MANY IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS IN OUR
LANGUAGE. ONE IS THAT SEVERAL WORDS ARE
COMBINED WHICH LOSE THEIR LITERAL MEANING
AND EXPRESS SOMETHING VERY REMOTELY
SUGGESTED.
EXAMPLES:
BIRDS OF A FEATHER, BLACKLIST, LAY UP, TOE THE
LINE, MAKE OUT, BED OF ROSES, DARK HORSE,
HEAVY HAND, OPEN HOUSE, READ BETWEEN THE
LINES, NO AX TO GRIND, HARD ROW TO HOE.
Black Sheep
Dark Horse
A SECOND STATEMENT ABOUT IDIOMS IS THAT PARTS OF
THE HUMAN BODY HAVE SUGGESTED MANY OF THEM:
BURN ONE‘S FINGERS
ALL THUMBS STEP ON SOMEONE‘S TOES
FLY IN THE FACE OF RUB ELBOWS WITH
STAND ON ONE‘S OWN FEET GET ONE‘S BACK UP
KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER KEEP ONE‘S CHIN UP
KEEP ONE‘S EYES OPEN
Put your foot in your mouth – say or do the wrong thing
Keep one’s eye open
- To remain vigilant
for someone or
something.
To step on
someone’s feet - to
upset someone, esp.
by getting involved
in something that is
that person's
responsibility
A THIRD GENERALIZATION IS THAT HUNDREDS
OF IDIOMATIC PHRASES CONTAIN ADVERBS OR
PREPOSITIONS WITH OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH.
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:
WALK OFF RUN DOWN GET THROUGH
WALK OVER RUN IN GET OFF
WALK-UP RUN OFF GET NOWHERE
RUN OUT
Walk off - to leave a place
because you are angry or
unhappy about something
Run off -
To chase someone
away with force or
the threat of force
or punishment.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS AND THEIR MEANING :

TOP 20 AMERICAN IDIOMS A

ND THEIR MEANING
 MIX AND MATCH
• MATCH THE GIVEN PHRASES INTO
THE MISSING WORD TO FORM AN
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION.
 A
B
1.A piece of
the ice

2.break
like a horse

3.Work
tears
 DRAW AN IDIOM
• DRAW AN ILLUSTRATION USING THE
GIVEN IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION AND
INTERPRET ITS MEANING.
Break her heart

Zip your mouth

Apple of someone’s eyes

Copycat

Make mouth water

 ACT AN IDIOM
•THINK OF AT LEAST THREE
IDIOMS AND ACT THEM OUT IN A
CLASS TO MAKE A GUESS.
 SPOKEN WORD
• COMPOSE AT LEAST EIGHT-LINE SPOKEN
WORD USING THE IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS. READ YOUR WORK IN
THE CLASS.
 SING IT!
SING A SONG AND REPLACE THE LYRICS
USING THE GIVEN IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS.
(ANY SONG CAN DO)
 EXERCISES : COMPLETE THE MISSING
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS IN THE GIVEN
STATEMENT.
A. WRITE A PIECE OF CAKE, ODDS AND ENDS, PROS AND CONS OR UPS
AND DOWN IN THE BLANKS PROVIDED.
1. THE TEACHER ASKED US TO TALK ABOUT THE ___________ OF
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
2. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE IN YOUR
BUSINESS .YOU KNOW THERE ARE ALWAYS ___________ IN BUSINESS.
3. THE POLICE FOUND NOTHING SPECIAL IN THE HOUSE OF THE
CRIMINAL AS HE HAD TAKEN ALL THE IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
WITH HIM LEAVING JUST _____________.
4. IF YOU THINK THAT DOING THIS MATH PROBLEM IS __________,
B. WRITE OCEAN, MUSIC, RAGS, COLD AND PIE IN THE BLANKS
PROVIDED.

1. ALL THESE PROMISES THE POLITICIANS MAKE ARE JUST ____ IN THE
SKY.
2. THE SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY DONATED IS JUST A DROP IN THE
_____ COMPARED TO THE LARGE SUM OF MONEY NEEDED.
3. HE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE. HE WENT FROM ____ TO RICHES.
4. THEY HAD A DISPUTE YESTERDAY. THAT‗S WHY SHE GAVE HIM A ___
SHOULDER.
5. I HAD TO FACE THE ____ ALL BY MYSELF, ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT THE
ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROBLEM.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WHAT IS A BIBLIOGRAPHY?
A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS TAKEN FROM THE GREEK WORD
‘BIBLION’ WHICH MEANS ‘BOOK’ AND ‘GRAPHIA’
WHICH MEANS ‘TO WRITE.’ A BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONTAINS AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SOURCES LIKE
BOOKS, PERIODICALS, AND WEBSITES USED BY THE
WRITER OR RESEARCHER.
THERE ARE MANY STYLES OR FORMATS IN CITING OR LISTING SOURCES,
DEPENDING ON THE SUBJECT. THE THREE MAIN CITATION STYLES ARE THE
FOLLOWING:
THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE WHICH IS
USED IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES.

THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) STYLE WHICH IS USED FOR

WRITING PAPERS ON LITERATURE AND RELATED SUBJECTS LIKE THEATER
OR FILM.

THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE (CMOS) WHICH IS OFTEN USED IN MANY

ACADEMIC FIELDS, ESPECIALLY IN THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
THESE ARE THE TYPES OR FORMATS OF SOURCES OF
INFORMATION: PRINT AND ONLINE.
TIP: TWO OR MORE AUTHORS SHOULD BE
LISTED IN THE ORDER AS THEY APPEAR AS
AUTHORS, AND NOT NECESSARILY
ALPHABETICALLY. FOR SOURCES WITH
MORE THAN TEN AUTHORS, INCLUDE ONLY
THE FIRST SEVEN IN THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
FOLLOWED BY ET AL. — A LATIN PHRASE
WHICH MEANS ‘AND OTHERS’.