Idioms... Idioms... Idioms...

Serendipity

Serendipity

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I first learned about it when I was in 5th grade. It is interesting enough to know about those. I knew some of them such as:

Brought the farm, meaning death.

Bufferflies in the stomach, meaning feeling so excited.

Burning the midnight oil, kicking the bucket, etc. That is all I can think of.


Any of you know anything besides that I just mentioned and define their meanings of each idioms you can think of?
 
wet blanket

- person who discourages others from having fun

He is a wet blanket so we never invite him to our parties.
 
I'm gonna try to remember them... I learnt them in 8th grade... been so long!
 
To rob Peter to pay Paul - to take away from one person in order to give to another; to pay off one debt only to incur another!!

LOL
 
Born with a silver spoon in your mouth <<< born into a wealthy family
 
I remember doing these in 6th grade. My teacher wanted us to learn idioms and how they work. She gave us an extra credit assignment. If we ever used an idiom at the right moment, she would give us extra credit. Of course, I blurted it out by accident. ;) So, I got my extra credit. ;)
 
Tamara said:
Wrong,
it should read "Let the cat out of the bag"
Click to expand...
Actually, although "Let the cat out of the bag" is more common, both are correct.

In fact, if you use my goodfriend Google, you can find many, many examples of that particular phrase.
 
two peas in a pod.
bark up a wrong tree.
I know I did learn a two-year worth of idioms yet I cannot remember most.

I, too, learned idioms in 5th and 6th grades. We got a daily idiom to memorize and apply in our little journal to practice our English (usually we had to write up to a paragraph and then write a sentence using the idiom after the paragraph).

I usually remember them when it is approriate for the context to be spoken. I oft use the idioms but I am trying to refrain myself because many people don't know those idioms and will go "huh?" so I will have to explain it to them when I could just save myself the troubles but then it is good to educate somebody else, you know? So :dunno: Idioms are getting outdated although...


Didja know how "sleep tight and don't let bedbugs bite" comes to? Apparently long time ago, the bed was designed with ropes tied across four posts. (it is like a net)... so every night before one goes to bed, one has to tighten the ropes to keep it afloat (overnight, the ropes will slowly slip down the posts due to the weight)... why would they keep the net up? well because of the bugs crawling around. (they don't have tiled floors back then!) so the purpose of tightening the ropes back up the posts is to avoid the bites...
THUS-- "SLEEP TIGHT" refers to the ropes staying up on the posts, and "DON'T LET BEDBUGS BITE" refers to the possibilty of slowly slipping onto the floor where you will fall victim to those pesty bugs!
 
There are thousands of English idioms, it gets frustrating. I am a native speaker, so if I hear idioms, even ones I haven't heard before, I understand most of them. If anyone has any questions about idioms, feel free to ask. Almost every idiom does have a historical background, although i don't know most of those, I do usually know what an idiom means. The two I have seen that second languages speakers have the most problems with are "How come? (Why) "How's it going?" (how are you?) and for deaf people the one I have seen ppl use and many miss is "Nice going!" (it means "good job" although usually sarcastically")
I know many, many sign students who sign using the right words, but thery don't realize the meaning behind it; their conceptual accuracy is off. Every deaf person's understanding of English idioms is different, just as every hearing person's understanding of ASL idioms is different. Ah well, C'est la vie.
hehe, ttyl,

Kelsey
 
signer16 said:
There are thousands of English idioms, it gets frustrating. I am a native speaker, so if I hear idioms, even ones I haven't heard before, I understand most of them. If anyone has any questions about idioms, feel free to ask. Almost every idiom does have a historical background, although i don't know most of those, I do usually know what an idiom means. The two I have seen that second languages speakers have the most problems with are "How come? (Why) "How's it going?" (how are you?) and for deaf people the one I have seen ppl use and many miss is "Nice going!" (it means "good job" although usually sarcastically")
I know many, many sign students who sign using the right words, but thery don't realize the meaning behind it; their conceptual accuracy is off. Every deaf person's understanding of English idioms is different, just as every hearing person's understanding of ASL idioms is different. Ah well, C'est la vie.
hehe, ttyl,

Kelsey
Click to expand...

Right, nobody wants to get off with the wrong foot.
 
tekkmortal said:
Right, nobody wants to get off with the wrong foot.
Click to expand...

I think that's 'get off on the wrong foot.'

Here's one that you don't see much: 'paint the town red' means PARTY

It's Saturday night. The guys are going to paint the town red. :beer:
 
You notice how many idioms change with time?

Bawl out- (now) chew out
What is up?- What's up? - Waaazzzzup? - (now, again) What's up?
Oh boy! - Neat! - Cool! (now) Sweet!

It's interesting to see how things change with the times, yah know? Also, a lot of times in English, and apparently in sign too, California uses new phrases before the rest of the country. Sometimes I hear my friends from the east coast say something and I am like whaaaa? Oh, I remember that, (from 5 years ago). Also, younger people and older people use different idioms. There are things I say that if my mom, or grandma, said them would be totally out of place. It is always funny to hear adults, especially older adults, use the new slang.
I had a deaf teacher, now in her early 50's, who was raised oral, and when she was 18, went to Gallaudet, learned ASL, and now uses it as her primary mode of communication. However, after class one day we were talking and walking to our cars, and for my benefit she was voicing, (at the time I wasn't very good at watching sign and walking, especially down stairs, hehe). Her voice was clear, I understood her, and the words she chose weren't wrong, simply outdated. It was similar to reading an ESL book from 10 years ago or so. Why is it that second languages taught in the classroom are rarely the same as those used by the native speakers? When I use my classroom spanish with native speakers, I get some STRANGE looks.
Oh yes, idioms. How come we use idioms? They fit like a glove into our language. They make languages unique. Okay, enough for now, ttyl, Kelsey
 
< is interested in idiosm I really need to read/learn cuz my boss some others at work always say :roll: sometimes I didnt understand I havent been taught at the school :dunno: maybe i was ignoring..

hold on someone's toe
pants on fire (I think it means lie, right?)
butt off always (workin hard)
long winded (talk much or non stop talkin :lol: )
more.. I dont remember I didnt undy and forget ;)
 
i know a lot of idioms.. but i can't think of any on the top of my head right now.. as it is past midnight :dizzy: lol..
 
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