Дополнение к идиомам (3) - Understanding idioms

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Like most language learners you may often find idioms difficult to understand. Even though you may understand all of the words in an idiom, when they are put together and used figuratively, it can be difficult to work out the meaning.

Imagery

One of the main reasons learners find idioms difficult to understand is that unlike native speakers, they are not familiar with the image that the idiom is based on. In Work on your Idioms, information on the image the idiom is based on is included in the Note sections. These will help you to understand where the idiom comes from as well as help you to remember it.

from the horse's mouth

If you get a piece of information from the horse's mouth, you get it directly from someone who is involved in it and knows the most about it.

Note: This expression may refer to the fact that you can tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth.

When he tells them, straight from the horse's mouth, what a good assistant you are, they'll increase your wages.

There are other ways of explaining idioms and if you are aware of these, they will help you understand idioms you come across more easily.

Shared physical experience

Some idioms are based on a shared physical experience. For example, butterflies in your stomach.

butterflies in your stomach

If you have butterflies in your stomach, you feel very nervous about something that you have to do.

Now I've qualified as a competitor, I'm starting to feel the butterflies in my stomach already.

This idiom uses the image of butterflies fluttering in your stomach to describe how you feel when you are nervous about something. We can all relate to this because as humans we have a strange feeling in our stomachs when we are anxious about something.

As a language learner, you may find these kinds of idioms easier to remember because the shared physical experience might be the same in your culture and you may even have a similar idiom in your mother tongue. However be aware that you cannot always assume that the idiom in your mother tongue has the same meaning in English and that you can translate word for word. Here are some other idioms from this book that are based on a shared physical experience.

be shaking like a leaf

jump out of your skin

Specific areas of experience

Another way to understand idioms is to identify the specific area of experience that the idiom is based on.

For example, some idioms are based on sport, war, cooking or films. Cut to the chase is based on the area of films.

cut to the chase

If you cut to the chase, you start talking about or dealing with what is really important, instead of less important things.

Note: In film s, when one scene ends and another begins the action is said to ‘cut’ from one scene to the next.

If a film ‘cuts to the chase’, it moves on to a car chase scene, which is usually fast-moving and exciting.

I'll cut to the chase - we just don't have enough money for the project.

If you know which specific area of experience the idiom is based on, it is easier to remember the meaning.

Grouping idioms in your notebook under their specific area of experience may help you to remember them more easily. Also, if you recognize the origin of a new idiom, you might be able to work out its meaning on your own.

Developing these skills is useful. Here are some other idioms from this book that are based on experience in sport.

a level playing field

move the goalposts

par for the course

Historical/Cultural context

It is also useful to think about the historical/cultural context of idioms. For example, English has lots of idioms that are based on sailing because historically England was a seafaring nation. Knowing this will help you recognize and understand idioms with their origins in sailing. Here are some examples from this book.

plain sailing

the coast is clear

Similarly, for historical/cultural reasons, there are lots of idioms in the English language that are based on card games, horse racing and hunting. Here are some examples from this book.

above board

leave someone in the lurch

Simile

Many idioms in English are based on similes. A simile is an expression that describes a person or thing as being similar to someone or something else. This comparison often makes these idioms easier to remember. Here are some examples from this book.

a mind like a sieve

get on like a house on fire

treat someone like dirt

Sound patterns

Up to 20 per cent of English idioms use alliteration (where the initial letters or sounds of all, or most of words are the same) or use words that rhyme. Because of the sound patterns of these idioms they can be easier to remember. Here are some examples from this book.

make a mountain out of a molehill

a labour of love

break your back

below the belt

fair and square

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