4Likes -
bury the hatchet
I wonder when people say " Let's bury the hatchet" Do they use this idiom after a long fight, Or just a last quarrel a minute ago? And apart from this one, do you have another idioms that have this same meaning?
-
Re: bury the hatchet
Bury the hatchet is an American Englishcolloquialism meaning "to make peace." The phrase is an allusion to the figurative or literal practice of putting away the
tomahawk at the cessation of hostilities among or by
Native Americans in the Eastern United States, specifically concerning the formation of the
Iroquois Confederacy and in
Iroquois custom in general. Weapons were to be buried or otherwise cached in time of peace.
Source: Wikipedia
Bury the hatchet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The other idiom with the similar meaning I can remember is ' to smoke the peace pipe', which was orginally from native Americans. Peace pipe is a token of peace for native Americans.
If people smoke the peace pipe, they stop arguing and fighting.
source: UsingEnglish.com
Smoke the peace pipe - Idiom Definition - UsingEnglish.com

P.S. I am not a teacher of English.
Last edited by thedaffodils; 02-May-2009 at 09:08.
Reason: added p.s.
-
Re: bury the hatchet
Its the early bird that catches the worm however its the second mouse that eats the cheese food for thought pardon my pun.
-
Re: bury the hatchet
In India there is a smilar phrase, "Mitti dalo", which literally means, to throw soil. When a person is burried, as per Muslim tradition, all those gathered for last rites, put some soil in the grave. This custom is called "Mitti(soil) dalna(putting, throwing).
Thus whenever there is dispute, the one wishes to end such dispute, says "Mitti dalo" - let us burry the matter.
-
Re: bury the hatchet
Usually it is used for long-standing quarrels. I can't really think of anything with the same connotation...maybe "let's forgive and forget"?
-
Re: bury the hatchet

Originally Posted by
alex_no_andra
Usually it is used for long-standing quarrels. I can't really think of anything with the same connotation...maybe "let's forgive and forget"?
WELCOME Alex_No_Andra to the forums. But I think "forgive and forget" has different meaning than "let's bury the hatchet".
-
Re: bury the hatchet
The meaning of this idiom can be better understood if we look at the reverse proposition. "To be on the warpath" is the opposite of "to bury the hatchet": The war begins and the war stops. This doesn't mean that the problem is settled. Take the example of World War One and World War Two: the hostilities opened at the beginning of the first and closed at the end of the second; in between the two camps buried the hatchet.
In my mind, this idiom should be used to make the idea of ending hostilities after a long fight.
-
-
Re: bury the hatchet

Originally Posted by
SUDHKAMP
In India there is a smilar phrase, "Mitti dalo", which literally means, to throw soil. When a person is burried, as per Muslim tradition, all those gathered for last rites, put some soil in the grave. This custom is called "Mitti(soil) dalna(putting, throwing).
Thus whenever there is dispute, the one wishes to end such dispute, says "Mitti dalo" - let us burry the matter.
So in Muslim tradition, such a short & new dispute happened a minute ago, can be ended by saying "Let's burry the hatchet"
-
Re: bury the hatchet

Originally Posted by
Hortence
The meaning of this idiom can be better understood if we look at the reverse proposition. "To be on the warpath" is the opposite of "to bury the hatchet": The war begins and the war stops. This doesn't mean that the problem is settled. Take the example of World War One and World War Two: the hostilities opened at the beginning of the first and closed at the end of the second; in between the two camps buried the hatchet.
In my mind, this idiom should be used to make the idea of ending hostilities after a long fight.
Hi! Hortence, your idea is very interesting, I just need all the details of this idiom cos' I've to give the explanaton together with examples to my audiences in our monthly magazine. So I 've to say thank you to all you guys for the valuable information given to this thread.
and if you have any noticeable examples, don't hesitate to show me ok
Similar Threads
-
By sangui in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 11
Last Post: 16-Mar-2010, 19:37
-
By angliholic in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 4
Last Post: 02-Jan-2008, 14:23
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules

Search Engine Optimization by
vBSEO 3.6.1