English Idioms and Sayings

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Tdol

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They're the best of friends.

How about 'like chalk and cheese'? ;-)
 

RonBee

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tdol said:
They're the best of friends.

How about 'like chalk and cheese'? ;-)

I don't know that one.

:?
 

RonBee

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Re:
  • Out of the blue

Meaning: without warning or preamble

Examples:
  • Out of the blue, she mentioned that Tom was going to be in town.
    Out of the blue, I got a phone call from my brother.
    That phone call came from out of the blue.
    Out of the blue, she said she was pregnant.
 

RonBee

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Re:
  • Walking on eggs

Meaing: behaving so as not to annoy or upset somebody.

Example:
  • I get tired of walking on eggs around her.
 

RonBee

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Re:
  • On cloud nine

Meaning: to be quite happy about something.

Example:
  • He's been on cloud nine ever since Jenny kissed him.

(Similar is walking on air.)
 

bmo

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RonBee said:
I have decided that it would be useful to ESL learners for them to learn some idioms and popular sayings. Please feel free to post one or more yourself.

Dear teachers:

May I suggest we open a new forum "Idioms and Sayings" where teachers and ESL learners can post idioms and sayings, definitions, and examples. and where we can have our writings edited. We learn new idoms and sayings and grammar.

Eventually, we can have these idioms and saying indexed. Here are my three examples:

1. (As) sick as a dog.
Very sick.
Origin: Proverbs 26:11 “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Example: “Linda, Brian is on the phone, he is asking if you are going to the Sunday school?” “Mom, please tell him it is something I ate at the party last night; I am sick as a dog, I can’t make it.”

2. Tie the knots.
Get married.
Example: Statistics shows couples tied the knots in church stay together longer and the divorce rate among them is lower.

3. A blessing in disguise.
A bad happening with a good ending.
Example: Attending a divinity college and vowing to serve God after his graduation, my son said having been laid off from his high paying engineering job two years ago was a blessing in disguise.

Thanks.

BMO
 

RonBee

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Those are good. However, the expression is tie the knot (not knots).

How about:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

And:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

:)
 

bmo

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RonBee said:
Those are good. However, the expression is tie the knot (not knots).

How about:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

And:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

:)


Thanks. Anything wrong with my examples? BMO
 

RonBee

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bmo said:
RonBee said:
Those are good. However, the expression is tie the knot (not knots).

How about:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

And:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

:)


Thanks. Anything wrong with my examples? BMO

For the second one, try:
  • Statistics shows couples that tied the knot in church stay together longer and are less likely to divorce.

Re:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

Meaning: some good can be found in every situation, no matter what.


Re:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

Meaning: you are more likely to be able to get somebody to do what you want if you "sweet talk" them than if you threaten them or otherwise make negative remarks.

:)
 

bmo

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RonBee said:
bmo said:
RonBee said:
Those are good. However, the expression is tie the knot (not knots).

How about:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

And:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

:)


Thanks. Anything wrong with my examples? BMO

For the second one, try:
  • Statistics shows couples that tied the knot in church stay together longer and are less likely to divorce.

Re:
  • There's a silver lining behind every cloud.

Meaning: some good can be found in every situation, no matter what.


Re:
  • You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

Meaning: you are more likely to be able to get somebody to do what you want if you "sweet talk" them than if you threaten them or otherwise make negative remarks.

:)


Thanks. It looks like other examples are okay. "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar" is a good one; I have never heard of it.

BMO
 

Tdol

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RonBee said:
There's a silver lining behind every cloud

In BE, we say 'Every cloud has a silver lining'. ;-)
 

RonBee

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tdol said:
RonBee said:
There's a silver lining behind every cloud

In BE, we say 'Every cloud has a silver lining'. ;-)

I have been informed that that's the AE expression too.

:wink:
 

RonBee

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What about:
  • He drinks like a fish.

What does that one mean?

:)
 

RonBee

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a pain in the neck

Meaning: an annoyance. Someone who is a pain in the neck is annoying.

Example:
  • Ron sure is a pain in the neck lately.

:wink:
 

RonBee

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Give me a hand

Meaning: help me

Example:
  • Would you give me a hand with this?

Or:
  • Would you like a hand with that?
 

RonBee

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the apple of your eye

Meaning: the object of great affection

Example:
  • He dotes on that little girl. She's the apple of his eye.
 

whl626

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RonBee said:
the apple of your eye

Meaning: the object of great affection

Example:
  • He dotes on that little girl. She's the apple of his eye.
Can it be on the reverse ? He's the apple of her eye ?
 

RonBee

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whl626 said:
RonBee said:
the apple of your eye

Meaning: the object of great affection

Example:
  • He dotes on that little girl. She's the apple of his eye.
Can it be on the reverse ? He's the apple of her eye ?

Sure.

:D
 

bmo

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Dear teachers,

Would you please take a look at the following idoms and examples? I am not sure the difinations are correct and the examples are grammatically sound. Thanks a lot. I notice there are quite a few viewers; ESL learners are interested in idioms and sayings like I am. Thanks. BMO

1. (As) sick as a dog.
Very sick.

Example: “Linda, Brian is on the phone, he is asking if you are going to the Sunday school?” “Mom, please tell him it is something I ate at the party last night; I am sick as a dog, I can’t make it.”

Do I need a "the" in front of Sunday school? Should "Sunday" be capitalized? Anything else wrong?

2. A man is known by the company he keeps.
By looking at your associates, people can tell what kind of person you are.

Example: I am worried about my son. He hangs around with these people with long hair, tattoos in arms and chest, holes in pants, some wearing nose, tongue, and lip rings. A man is known by the company he keeps; I wish he would associate with well-dressed, mannered, and church-going people.

3. (Buying) a pig in a poke
Buying something without first checking it out can bring a surprise.

Example: I am glad the old fashioned, arranged marriages of our great-grandparent’s generation are over. Without seeing each other until the wedding day, how would they know the person they were marrying did not have two noses? It was like buying a pig in a poke – it could be full of surprises.

Should grandparent be plural and anything else wrong?
Have a good day to you all.
 
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