"Unraveling Idioms: Language Insights"

PLAYING WITH IDIOMS

An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words, which can make idioms hard for ESL students and learners to understand.

(2) • Idioms are expressions that don't mean what they appear to mean. For example, when you say 'it's raining cats and dogs', you don't mean that cats and dogs are falling out of sky, but rather that it's raining heavily. Idioms provide interesting insights into languages and thought processes of their speakers.

To pay through the nose • Ex: Wow you paid five hundred dollars just to have a piano moved from one end of town to the other. They really made you pay through the nose! • Pagare un occhio della testa

To drive someone up the wall • My roommate never puts anything away. He leaves his clothes all over the house and he never closes cupboard boards. He is driving me up the wall • Fare uscire fuori dai gangheri

To go up in the air • My boss went up in the air when I asked him for a pay rise • Infuriarsi

To be on cloud nine • Have you heard the good news about Harry? He has finally asked Mary to marry him. Mary must be on cloud nine. • Essere al settimo cielo

You have made your bed, you must lie on it • I told you that you shouldn’t change jobs, so don’t come complaining to me now about your new on: you have made your bed, you must lie on it. • Hai voluto la bicicletta? Ora pedala!

To be as blind as a bat • You are not going to let Karen drive you to the station, are you? She is as blind as a bat! • Essere cieco come una talpa.

To cool one’s heels • I went to ask Mr Pinzimon for a part in his new Broadway show but he left me cooling my heels outside his office for five hours. Finally he came out abd said there were no more parts left. • Aspettare a lungo qualcuno

To screw up one’s courage • I was a bit scared at first, but I screwed up my courage and jumped into the cold water • Farsi coraggio

To sleep like a log • Last night someone broke into my room and stole my stereo and my computer. I did not hear a thing: I was sleeping like a log • Dormire come un ghiro • N.B. log-ceppo

To be head over heels in love • Sam is head over heels in love with Rachel. Every day he sends her chocolates and roses • Essere innamorato cotto

To be as different as chalk and cheese • Why are you always saying that I am like Mike? That’s ridiculous – we are different as chalk and cheese. • Essere come il giorno e la notte

To foot the bill • Who is going to foot the bill for this job if the company goes bankrupt? • Pagare il conto • N.B To foot: pagare, danzare, andare a piedi.

To go bananas • When Mr Lynch heard that his daughter was planning to marry Robert he went bananas. Mr Lynch really hates that boy. • Andare su tutte le furie

Lock, stock and barrel • I told our landlord we would pay the rent in two week’s time, but he told us we had to be out of his apartment, lock, stock and barrel, by Monday morning or he would call the police. • Armi e bagagli/fare baracca e burattini • N.B. Lock – otturatore; stock – calcio (del fucile); barrel – canna (del fucile o di arma da fuoco)

A peeping Tom • My brother is always trying to spy on the lady next door when she is taking a bath. I have told him he is a disgusting peeping Tom, but he doesn’t seem to care. • Essere un guardone

Peeping Tom: the legend • The story of Peeping Tom springs from Lady Godiva'sinfamous ride through the streets of Coventry in England. Unclothed with only her long hair to cover her, she made the ride as a protest to the oppressive taxation of the townspeople by her husband, Leofric III, lord of Coventry. Before her ride, Lady Godiva asked the townspeople to stay inside with their shutters and doors closed so they wouldn't see her in the nude. According to legend, one man, a tailor named Tom, bore a hole in his shutters to catch a glimpse of Godiva as she passed. The tailor, who became known as Peeping Tom, was struck blind (or some say dead) the moment he saw her. Lady Godiva was a real noblewoman who lived in the 11th century, though it appears that her ride may be more fiction than fact.

Time out of mind • You must remember this: a kiss is but a kiss, a smile is but a smile; and so it has been, time out pf mind. • Sin dalla notte dei tempi

A Fly in the ointment • Our trip to Florence was really wonderful. The only fly in the ointment was that my daughter refused to eat Italian food. • Una piccola pecca • N.B ointment - unguento

To flog a dead horse • He’s been going on and on about the advantages of the single currency, but he’s flogging a dead horse. I don’t think the British will ever adopt the euro. • Spreco di energia • N.B to flog - picchiare

To drown one’s troubles/sorrows • Harry is at the pub, drowning his sorrows. You can’t blame him though: he’s lost his job at the factory and he has a wife and two kids to support. • Bere per dimenticare • To drown: affogare/sommergere

To know which side one’s bread is buttered. • Barbara will never leave her husband, even though he has another woman; he makes a lot of money, and she knows which side her bread is buttered • Sa bene il fatto suo.

Bone of contention • Despite what the newspapers say, the real bone contention between the unions and government is the 30-hour week. • Pomo della discordia

To sow one’s wild oats • Before I came home to work for my father, I spent some time in NY, sowing my wild oats. Every night a different woman, it was the best time of my life! • Godersi la vita • N.B to sow/sowed/ sowed or sown: seminare/ spargere • oats – avena • This expression alludes to sowing inferior wild oats instead of good cultivated grain, the verb sowing--that is, "planting seed"--in particular suggesting sexual promiscuity. [Mid-1500s]

A piece of cake! • Was the French test difficult? No. It was a piece of cake! • Un gioco da ragazzi

To be still wet behind the ears • You can’t expect him to run the company at 21! He’s still wet behind the ears • Avere ancora la bocca sporca di latte

Two’s company, three’s a crowd! • It’s very nice of you to invite me out with you and your girlfriend, but I think I’ll stay home. After all, two’s cmpany, three’s a crowd. • Il terzo incomodo

Tom, Dick or Harry • I won’t go out with just any Tom, Dick or Harry. I want to meet someone special, someone sensitive, someone with a lot money! • Tizio, Caio e Sempronio • Pierre, Paul ou Jacques - in lingua francese • Fulano, Zutano, Mengano y Perengano — in lingua spagnola • Hinz und Kunz — in lingua tedesca. • N.B: sensitive: sensibile/tenero/suscettibile (He was a sensitive collegue who always listened sympathetically) • Sensible: assennato/ragionevole/saggio (It would be sensible to take an umbrella in case it rains)

To hold one’s peace • He was going on and on about how wonderful Italy was during the Twienties and I was getting angrier and angrier, but I held my peace. I didn’t want to get into an argument. • Non aprir bocca/tenere al bocca chiusa • To hold/held/held: tenere/trattenere

To put one’s foot in one’s mouth • I really put my foot in my mouth last night at the party, when I told Harry that his mother looked very good for her age. The troble is, it was not his mother, it was his girlfriend! • Fare una gaffe.

"Unraveling Idioms: Language Insights"