Idioms generally belong to one culture and their meaning is very peculiar in that culture, they are used in both formal and informal conversations.
Stathi (2006) believes that idioms are expressions whose idiomaticy (formal property of expressions) is semantic.
According to Mc Cathy and O´Dell (2008) Idioms are connected to animals, things, parts of the body, food, colors, smell, sports, etc.
Gumpel (1974) states that Idioms itseft do not mean anything, but in a sentence they have a hidden meaning.
Idioms are very Important in teaching because they are a perfect way to teach english to ESL students, as the learner can start to speak fluently using Idioms and is considered to be an integral part of vocabulary teaching (Nation; 2001)
Now, let´s get to the idioms!
"all ears" - It is used when someone is listening carefully to it´s interlocutor, in spanish its counterpart is its exact translation "todo oidos"
"off the hook" - It means to escape a situation of responsability and, in minor cases, dangerous situations, the spanish equivalent would be, for the latter meaning "fuera de peligro" Which could be translated as "off the danger" and acually makes sense with the idiom.
"piece of cake" - It is used when something is very easy and the spanish equivalent is "pan comido" which would literally mean "eaten bread" but as stated before, idioms do not really mean what they look like.
"pull someone leg" - It is used when teasing or joking, generally with a lie, it´s spanish counterpart involves hair instead of a leg and is "tomarle el pelo a alguien"
"sleep with the fishes" - It means to die and its spanish counterpart is "a dormir para siempre" Which could translate "to sleep forever".
Anyway, what do you think of each citation?
which one do you think is more accurate with your concept of idiom?
Is there an idiom you use too often?
Is there an idiom you use too often?
I think they are a nice way to use synonyms. And no I don't think any of your idioms you used in this post fits me :p
ReplyDeleteI think we can find endless types of idioms from the obvious to the weirdest. I rather not to chose jaja, it's hard for me, but in the end all of them end being idioms. Thank you esteban
ReplyDeleteHa, you are right
DeleteHow interesting read these quotes, I had not watched idioms from that point of view, thanks to good search.
ReplyDeleteVery good idioms and also useful ¡
ReplyDeleteWhat's up Esteban!
ReplyDeleteGood quotations, let me tell you I liked it this entry and it is evident that you took of your time to supplement the post. I agree with this: 'Idioms are connected to animals, things, parts of the body, food, colors, smell, sports' (Mc Cathy, 2008). This reflects we are used to add features to our phrases for better understanding. I have heard most of those idioms and I also use 'pull someone leg' several times in my lifetime.