Friday, December 4, 2009

Idioms

Please add, in the comments, any English-language (or simply American) phrases that you find odd or incomprehensible.

5 comments:

  1. Beat A Dead Horse
    (To force an issue that has already ended)

    Break A Leg
    (A superstitious way to say 'good luck' without saying 'good luck', but rather the opposite)

    Chew someone out
    (Verbally scold someone)
    I remember Dr.Newmark used this once when she was talking to me, so I just wrote it down

    Excuse my French
    (Please forgive me for cussing)
    This is my favorite. Because I always use this when I scold my friends. Also Brad Pit used it in one of his movies ... haha

    Fools' Gold
    (Iron pyrites, a worthless rock that resembles real gold)
    Off course there is a movie with the same title and Matthew McConaughey is in it.

    Kick The Bucket
    (Some one Died)

    Let The Cat Out Of The Bag
    (To share a secret that wasn't suppose to be shared)

    Mambo Jumbo
    (Nonsense or meaningless speech)
    I like this as it rhythms

    Over My Dead Body
    (When you absolutely will not allow something to happen)

    The Whole Nine Yards
    (Everything. All of it)
    Movie title again

    Under the weather
    (Feeling ill or sick)

    Van Gogh's ear for music
    (Tone deaf)
    This was funny. I thought the opposite of what it actually means when I heard it the first time (was watching a drama in opera house).

    Catch22
    (conflicting rules make the desired outcome impossible)

    And offcourse there are other local stuffs like
    California stop means to stop at a stop sign for a sec as if not to stop at all.

    This is as far as I can think. If I do remember something interesting I would include it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tongue-in-cheek
    making a smart remark

    Pulling your leg
    making fun of someone

    Cough up
    To come up with it yourself

    Wet Blanket
    Not able to have fun and ruining other people's fun

    Straight from the horse's mouth
    obtaining information for a (supposedly) reliable source

    ReplyDelete
  3. Burning the midnight oil:
    To work late to complete the job
    Back to square one:
    To start all over again

    ReplyDelete
  4. (To) fall flat (on one's face):
    To fail. To be unsuccessful.

    Fair-weather friend:
    A person who is only your friend when things are going well for you.

    take it's toll:
    To cause damage (or loss).

    eat one's heart out:
    To be envious or jealous.

    pay an arm and a leg/ pay a fortune:
    To pay a lot of money.

    promise someone the moon:
    To promise someone lots of extravagant things (unrealistically).


    nip something in the bud:
    To end something at an early stage.


    vanish into thin air:
    To disappear without leaving a trace

    Jack-of-all-trades:
    A person who knows how to do a lot of different things.

    You can't teach an old dog new tricks:
    A proverb meaning that old people can't learn anything new.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A Dime A Dozen:
    Anything that is common and easy to get


    All Greek to me:
    Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the Greek language would be.


    An Arm And A Leg:
    Very expensive. A large amount of money.


    Baker's Dozen:
    Thirteen.
    (i love it, it is funny)


    Blue Moon:
    A rare event or occurance.


    Buy A Lemon:
    To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problems or stops running after you drive it away.


    Crack Someone Up:
    To make someone laugh.
    (we have sth like this in Persian)

    ReplyDelete