Modern English Idioms

Kirkpatrick Betty

Description

An idiom is a phrase whose wording is either wholly or partly fixed and which cannot be understood simply from taking the literal meanings of the individual words which make up the phrase. Thus, idiomatically, if you kill two birds with one stone it does not mean that you are going around murdering birds, but that you are achieving two aims with one action.The English language is particularly rich in idioms and they are an aspect of English which learners of the language find particularly difficult.This book features many well-known and used idioms in the English language today, from the acid test and a chip off the old block, through sing from the same hymn sheet to zero hour.Arranged in dictionary format, the idioms featured here are all given clear explanations and are accompanied by example sentences to show how they are used. Also included are the origins of some of the idioms and readers are likely to find many of these unusual and fascinating.As well as being a source of useful information and language help, this book is fun to browse through.

Sujets

• Dictionaries
• Dictionary

Informations

• Publié par: Crombie Jardine Publishing Limited
• Date de parution: 12 février 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781291743470
• Langue: English

Extrait

INTRODUCTION

An idiom is a phrase whose wording is either wholly or partly fixed and which cannot be understood simply from taking the literal meanings of the individual words which make up the phrase. Thus, idiomatically, if you kill two birds with one stone it does not mean that you are going around murdering birds, but that you are achieving two aims with one action. Likewise, if you take a leaf out of someone’s book you do not take a sheet of paper from someone’s book, but you copy their behaviour.

The English language is particularly rich in idioms and they are an aspect of English which learners of the language find particularly difficult. It is well worth becoming familiar with a range of idioms, as such familiarity will not only help your understanding of English writing, but will help to make your own writing more interesting and vivid.

Because idioms are made up of several words it is not always easy to decide which word to enter them under in a dictionary. In this dictionary they have been entered under the first noun or the first important noun. Thus strike while the iron is hot is to be found under iron , turn over a new leaf is under leaf and so on.

The idioms are all given clear explanations and they are also accompanied by example sentences to show how the various idioms are used. This feature of the dictionary is exceptionally useful for learners of English and it will give them the confidence to try to use the idioms in their own writing.

This book also includes the origins of some of the idioms and readers are likely to find many of these unusual and fascinating. In some cases, the origins are not given because they are obvious. In other cases, the origins are not given because they are unknown or are doubtful.

Idioms are one of the most interesting features of the English language. As well as being a source of useful information and language help, this book is fun to browse through.

 
A
~
 
Achilles
Achilles’ heel
a weak spot
Jane is generally a very good employee, but her Achilles’ heel is her unpunctuality.
[Achilles, a hero famous in Greek legend, is said to have been dipped by his mother in the River Styx to make him invincible, but his heel was left vulnerable because she was holding him by it. This proved fatal as he was killed by an arrow shot through his heel.]

acid
the acid test
a test that will prove or disprove something beyond doubt
The new product looks like a winner, but the acid test will be the sales figures.
[A reference to the fact that nitric acid was once used as a test for gold. If the metal tested was not gold, it decomposed because of the action of the acid on it.]

Adam
not to know someone from Adam
not to recognize someone; not to know who someone is
That man over there said he used to work with me, but I don’t know him from Adam.
[From Adam, the first man on earth, according to the Bible.]

air
be walking on air
to be extremely happy
Sue’s been walking on air since she met her new boyfriend.
clear the air
to make a situation less tense and strained by discussing the problem and getting rid of any ill-feeling
The neighbours aren’t speaking to us because we trimmed the communal hedge without asking them first; I’m going to go over there and try to clear the air.
into thin air
as though into nowhere
One minute she was sitting on the beach next to us; the next she had disappeared into thin air.
[Perhaps from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.]
put on airs
to behave as though you are superior to others
She’s only an ordinary member of staff like the rest of us, but she’s always putting on airs.
up in the air
still undecided or uncertain
Our plans to move house are up in the air until we sell our flat.

aisle
be rolling in the aisles
to laugh heartily
The comedian’s jokes had us all rolling in the aisles.
[From the aisle in a theatre.]

angel
on the side of the angels
supporting or agreeing with what is regarded to be good or moral
Most of the family are very wasteful, but Emma’s on the side of the angels and recycles as much material as possible.

ante
up the ante
to increase the sum of money offered or needed for something
Jack said I could buy his old car for £2,000, but he upped the ante when he discovered that there were other people interested in it.
[A reference to increasing the amount of money which you bet in a game of cards, causing other players to put up a similar amount in order to go on playing in the game.]

apple
in apple-pie order
very neat and tidy
Meg’s kitchen is always in apple-pie order, but then she rarely cooks.
[Possibly from the French expression nappe pliée meaning a folded sheet.]
the apple of someone’s eye
someone who is very much loved by someone; someone’s favourite
The youngest child is the apple of her father’s eye and he over-indulges her.
upset the applecart
to spoil plans for something; to prevent progress on something
We were planning to have a relaxing weekend at the beach, but the English professor upset the applecart by giving us all an essay that had to be in on Monday.
[From the practice of selling fruit from carts in the street.]

apron
be tied to someone’s apron strings
to be utterly dependent on and controlled by a woman, often your mother
Bill’s friends tried to persuade him to share a flat with them, but he’s tied to his mother’s apron strings and she isn’t ready for him to leave home.

ark
like something out of the ark
very old-fashioned in appearance
The furniture in the rented flat was like something out of the ark.
[From Noah’s Ark in the Bible.]

arm
right arm
a person who provides someone’s main source of help and support
Her personal assistant is her right arm; she couldn’t do her job properly without her.
[Most people are right-handed and rely on their right arm for carrying out the majority of tasks.]
twist someone’s arm
to try to persuade or force someone to do something that they really don’t want to do
I didn’t want to go to the zoo, but she twisted my arm by saying that she had already promised the children that I would go.
[If you literally twist someone’s arm, you exert force.]

arms
be up in arms
to protest in a very angry manner
The villagers are up in arms about the closure of the local school.
[The word arms in this sense means weapons.]

attendance
dance attendance on someone
to be always available to carry out all someone’s wishes
The student continues to stay at home because he doesn’t have to pay rent and he has his mother dancing attendance on him.

awakening
get/have a rude awakening
suddenly to realize that a situation is nothing like as good, pleasant, etc as you thought it was
She said that a baby would not change her lifestyle, but she got a rude awakening when he was born.

axe
have an axe to grind
to have a personal reason to be involved in something
He had an axe to grind by making a large donation to the building of the new school. He wanted his daughter to get a place there.
[From a story told by the American politician Benjamin Franklin about an incident in his boyhood when a man asked him to show him how well his grandfather’s grindstone worked. The man gave Franklin his own axe to demonstrate on and so got it sharpened for free.]
 
B
~
 
baby
be left holding the baby
to be left to deal with a problem or difficult situation alone when this is at least partly the responsibility of someone else
We formed a committee to organize the charity ball, but the others all gradually dropped out, leaving me holding the baby.
throw out the baby with the bathwater
to get rid of something that is important or of value whilst trying to improve things by getting rid of something that is unnecessary or undesirable
Admittedly, the old curriculum was not ideal, but it had some good points, and, in replacing it, the education authorities have thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

back
have your back to the wall
to be in a very difficult or dangerous situation
When we both lost our jobs, we really had our backs to the wall financially and we had to get a loan from my parents.
[If someone is being pursued and they reach a wall, there is nowhere for them to run and they must face their pursuer or be attacked or captured.]
put someone’s back up
to annoy or irritate someone
The new receptionist really puts my back up when she acts as though she were superior to the rest of us.
[From a cat arching its back when it is angry.]
stab someone in the back
to behave in a treacherous way towards someone; to betray someone who is a friend or colleague
I told Anne in confidence that I wasn’t sure about using the new computing system and she stabbed me in the back by telling our boss that I wasn’t coping with the job.

bacon
save someone’s bacon
to save someone from a difficult situation
You really saved my bacon by giving me a lift when my car wouldn’t start this morning. My boss would have been furious if I’d been late for my meeting with him.
[Perhaps a reference to previous times when farmers had to make sure that nothing happened to their supply of bacon that was to feed their families through the winter months.]

bag
be in the bag
to be sure to be obtained or achieved
She reckons her promotion is in the bag, although she hasn’t yet been told officially.
[A reference to a bag used in hunting for carrying the game that has been caught or shot.]

ball
be on the ball
to be quick to notice and understand what is going on around you
If your estate agent had been on the ball, he would have advised you to wait for a better offer for your house. This has become a very popular area.
[From a football player who watches the ball very carefully throughout the game so that he is ready to kick it when it comes his way.]
play ball with someone
to agree to do as someone asks or wishes
We suggested to him that it made good business sense to merge his company with ours,