IDIOTIC IDIOMS! The joys of idioms

Good morning!

Right off the bat ... I've been racking my brain to find a different way of staying in contact with you during this time off from classes and keeping the learning process an on-going fun activity for all of you. So when I sent you the last e-mail with an idiomatic expression and a picture to illustrate it, hmmmmm!... I thought. Why not use idioms to continue the learning process and enriching your vocabulary using expressions ... (rhetorical question here).

Well IDIOMS it is!

They are WORDS and they are FUNNY,

and they fit the bill!

They are in the spirit of this BLOG!

They are strange and idiotic and bizarre. And they can be great FUN. They are unique !and you have to use them in a clause ... you cannot seperate the elements, they must be used together, if not they make no sense at all!!

Over the coming months, you can expect a regular 'flow' of idiomatic expressions. I will classify them thematically and hope that this way it will be easier for you to assimilate them and put them into practice.

Here are some examples from different languages:

Did you know that Russians say "I'm not hanging noodles on your ears" when they're not pulling your leg. To us that sounds ridiculous. But let's face it, our idioms don't have a leg (pulled or not) to stand on either. 

They are just as nonsensical. And they're not alone!

To seize the moon by the teeth: attempt the impossible (French). To reheat cabbage: to rekindle an old flame (Italian). When the crayfish sings in the mountain: never (Russian). Cleaner than a frog's armpit: to be poor, broke (Spanish). To think one is the last suck of the mango: to be conceited (South American Spanish). Onions should grow in your navel: a mild insult (Yiddish). Brew tea from dirt under another's fingernails: to learn a bitter lesson (Japanese). Belch smoke from the seven orifices of the head: to be furious (Chinese).

There is enough here to swallow for today!  

Let's not get carried away!

KEEP ON LEARNING!

Suzanne