2. Idioms
The English language is full of idioms
(over 15,000). Native speakers of English
use idioms all the time, often without
realising that they are doing so. This
means that communication with native
speakers of English can be quite a
confusing experience.
3. What is an idiom?
An idiom is a group of words which,
when used together, has a different
meaning from the one which the
individual words have.
4. Idioms: the good news
Sometimes idioms are very easy for
learners to understand because there
are similar expressions in the speakers'
mother tongue.
Sometimes you can guess the meaning
of new idioms from context.
5. Idioms: the bad news
However, idioms can often be very
difficult to understand. Many idioms,
come from favourite traditional British
activities such as fighting, sailing,
hunting and playing games. As well as
being quite specialist in meaning, some
of the words in idioms were used two or
three hundred years ago, or longer, and
can be a little obscure.
6. How can I learn idioms?
• as you do vocabulary
• practical sentence so that you will be
able to remember its meaning easily
8. Sometimes we get a bad start to our
day, it continues throughout the day,
and people notice.
It is as if we started our day ("got up")
in the wrong way ("on the wrong side
of the bed") and that has affected
everything else that happened since.
Example: "Don't start yelling at me just
because you got up on the wrong
side of the bed." Example: "I told you
to pick up your things! And don't play
your music so loudly!" Reply: "Wow. It
looks like someone got up on the
wrong side of the bed!"
10. Curiosity killed the cat reminds us
that being too curious can be
dangerous. Example: "What do you
think is down that dark street?" Reply:
"I would rather not find out. Curiosity
killed the cat."
Cats are curious animals that like to
investigate, but their curiosity can take
them places where they might get hurt.
Children especially, are like cats, are
curious and like to test to find out what
is dangerous.
12. To go out of the frying pan and into
the fire is to get out of one difficult
situation only to end up in another.
Example: "I worked too hard on that
last project. But on this new project I
am working even harder!" Reply: "Out
of the frying pan and into the fire."
"The frying pan" is a very hot place to
be because it is over "the fire". In a
difficult situation, the first thing we
want to do is get out of that situation.
14. You are "burning the midnight
oil" when you are working hard
late into the night. Example: "I
could see the light in your window
last night. It looks like you have
been burning the midnight oil."
Before they had electric lamps,
people used oil-burning lamps to
read or work in the darkness at
night. When you are working very
hard until late at night you are
"burning the midnight oil."
16. To "go for broke" is to risk everything
on one chance to win big. Example:
"Are you sure you want to bet all of
your money on that one horse?" Reply:
"Yes. I'm going for broke!"
means take a risk, try your best, and
give all of your energy to something.
Example: "The way to be successful is
to decide exactly what you want, then
go for broke."
To be "broke" is to have no money;
you "go for broke" when you risk
losing everything for one chance to win
big.
