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WHAT ARE IDIOMS? Idioms are words, phrases, or
expressions whose meaning cannot be taken literally, but are used figuratively.
WAIT – What is the difference between literal and figurative meaning?
LITERAL – The words mean EXACTLY what they say
FIGURATIVE – The words don’t mean exactly what they say, but something different or exaggerated.
FOR EXAMPLE: One common English idiom is:
“It’s raining cats and dogs!” If this expression was taken literally, then
that would mean that actual cats and dogs are raining down from the sky.
However, we know this is not true.When people say that “it’s rainingcats and dogs!” they mean it in a figurative way. It’s figurative meaning is that it israining very hard!
AGAIN, Idioms are expressions or phrases that
don’t literally mean what they say, but instead have a figurative meaning that people learn from speaking the language.
This is why learning a new language can be so difficult sometimes! Every language has its own idioms that don’t mean what they actually say – but the language learner doesn’t know what they actually mean!
A good way to tell if a phrase is an idiom is to imagine what it would literally mean. Does that make any sense? No? It’s probably an idiom!
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
See eye to eye =
Agree
IDIOM: The couple could not see eye to eye on their Christmas plans.
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
Under the weather =
Sick, not feeling well
IDIOM: I can’t come in to work today. I’m feeling a little under the weather.
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
A piece of cake =
Easy, no problem
IDIOM: That Outsiders test was a piece of cake!
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
Tie the knot =
Get married
IDIOM: Sarah and Adnan are going to tie the knot next summer!
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
Hit the hay =
Go to bed, go to sleep
IDIOM: Whew! It’s been a long day. Time to hit the hay!
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
Bury the hatchet =
Stop fighting/arguing, move on from a disagreement
IDIOM: I’m tired to fighting about this. Let’s bury the hatchet.
COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS
Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning
Give the cold shoulder =
Ignore, pay no attention to
IDIOM: When I tried to apologize, he gave me the cold shoulder.