5 things you should know about idioms

1. What is an idiom?

An idiom is defined as a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. An idiom is more than the meaning of each word in it. They are not literal but metaphorical and figurative. Idioms are important part of any language and are peculiar to the culture of the place.

Literal means to have a meaning which is used normally or usually. Metaphorical and figurative mean symbolical – that is words which are used as symbols.     

                      Shyam : Where is my book?  Ram: It is in the bag.

In the above conversation in the bag is the literal meaning.

Having received a lot of praise from the management, he knew that his promotion was in the bag.

In the above sentence in the bag is an idiom which  means something will be achieved / got certainly.

2. Why should idioms be used?

ü To be creative

ü To add humour

ü To transform dull/boring writing to WOW

ü To pack a punch by communicating the exact meaning

ü To communicate our thoughts in fewer words

3. When to use idioms?

Idioms are very powerful but have to be handled very carefully. They bring in freshness in your writing and speaking language. It is advised that idioms must be avoided in formal writing as there is room for misunderstanding. As English is not our native language, we need to practice caution and not use too many idioms. 

4. How to learn the use of idioms?

Idioms are essential part of every language. To understand idioms you need to read a lot, understand the nuances of the language and practice. With practice, you will understand the meaning from context and will be to use them fluently.

5. Should idioms be memorized?

Definitely ‘NO’. If idioms are memorized and used, you will not sound natural. You have to learn how the native speakers use idioms as they have to be used in context.

Now for some interesting things about idioms :

ü It is said that English language has more than 25000 idioms.

ü As we have already noted idioms are uniquely special to different cultures. Still it is not surprising to have idioms which have similar meanings.

ü Elisabeth Piirainen, a German linguist and scholar, calls them “Widespread Idioms”.

ü According to her research, the phrase         

             §  “to get on someone’s nerves” exists in no less than 57 European languages;

     §  “to live in/be in an ivory tower” exists in at least 35 European languages and others.

      §  “to shed crocodile tears” occurs in 45 European languages, but also Arabic, Swahili, Persian, various Indian languages, Chinese, Mongolian and more.

·        Similarly, similar idioms in different languages mean different things.

§  In Finnish, “with long teeth” means you are doing something that you really don’t want to do.

§  In French, “to have long teeth” means you are ambitious.

In a nutshell, learning and using idioms are not rocket science.

Even though they are dime a dozen, they can be used to hit the nail on the head.

     Enjoy Quiz on Idioms 

 

 

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