Idioms are quite a fascinating feature of just about any language. Originally a French or late Greek word from the16th century. It refers to a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g.,rain cats and dogs). Idioms are quite common.
English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don't always make sense literally, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language. -EF
Let's take a look at a number of the most common idioms used.
Break a leg > Good luck. This phrase can is used by an individual to encourage someone who is about to do some challenging task.
Go back to the drawing board > To start over again. This is a phrase that you might hear or use if you've been in a meeting discussing a number of ideas and as time goes on, a number of issues arise, so you have to rethink what it is that you'd like to do and go back to the drawing board.
The best of both worlds > The most ideal situation. Perhaps you and a friend are wanting to go out for lunch and are in a place with a number of places to choose from. You have a craving for a particular restaurant's french fried, but you like another place's restaurant'severals burgers. Your friend says, "I'll go get the fries at restaurant A, and you get the burgers from B. Then we'll meet back here. It'll be the best of both worlds."
Under the weather > Feeling sick. Imagine you wake up one morning several days after you've picked up your child from daycare, and you noticed a number of the kids had runny noses, your child seems to have caught a cough and you wake up, nose plugged, and have a fever. You call your supervisor at work to tell her, "Sorry I won't be able to make it in today, I'm feeling a bit under the weather today.
Idioms are a great aspect of English, and I encourage you to learn as many of them as you can and use them to salt and pepper your words. The link I've provided has a number of idioms that you can start learning.
Catch you later.
Comments