Idioms
Idioms
Idioms
Beat around the bush: usually a social blunder, this means speaking for a long time
when trying to delay doing or saying something else
Beat a dead horse: trying to persuade someone when you have no chance of
succeeding
Steal your thunder: to divert attention from another speaker onto yourself by, for
example, telling an anecdote thats even more bizarre or amusing than the one told by
the other person
Whole nine yards: said of someone or something that includes everything necessary
or possible in a given situation
rub shoulders
I must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Nothing is going well for me
today!
Ignore Jane. She got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.
Go in one ear and out the other
Definition: not pay attention to something that has been instructed
I'm afraid his name went in one ear and out the other. Can you tell me his name again?
Unfortunately, what I say just goes in one ear and out the other.
Let the cat out of the bag
Definition: tell a surprise to someone that one should keep secret
Why did you tell him? You let the cat out of the bag!
Peter let the cat out of the bag a few days early.
Like a fish out of water
Definition: to be out of place
I felt like a fish out of water in my new position.
Some students feel like fish out of water for the first few days.
Make a mountain out of a molehill
Definition: make something seem much more important than it is, exaggerate the importance
of something
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. We'll get by this month and then everything will be
OK.
Margret made a mountain out of a molehill. Just ignore her.
Odd man out
Definition: not belong to a situation, feel strange in a situation
I was the odd man out last night with Tim and Anna. I think they wanted to be alone.
Sometimes I feel like the odd man out no matter how hard I try to fit in.
Out and about
Definition: away from the home
Doug is out and about tonight. I don't know when he'll return.
I feel like we need to get out and about.
Out of luck
What is a slang?
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions in certain social situations. Slang is
casual and therefore should not and cannot be used in all situations and with all people. We
often use it with family, friends and peers but not with someone who could be considered of a
higher social status like an employer, a doctor etc.
Slang differs from one English speaking country to another. There is American slang,
British slang, Australian slang, Canadian slang etc. More specifically, the slang is also
regional. In other words, in America, there is New Yorkean slang, Texan slang, Californian
slang etc.
Slang then is the informal use of the language which a certain community creates and
develops to eventually become part of this regions culture and character.
PS: Slang is not accent. Slang has got nothing to with pronunciation. It is merely related to
the use of words.
What is an idiom?
An idiom is an English expression that consists of a series of words which, if you look at
individually and literally, are not related to the general meaning of the sentence in which they
appear. Let us look at the following idiom as an example: Beat around the bush.
Beat=as in hit
around=as in around an area
the bush=as in the forest
Now lets use this idiom in a sentence.
I would appreciate it if you could tell me what you want instead of beating around the
bush!