Idioms

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ju

Key Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
There're some expressions that I found difficult to understand as follows.

1. I am all ears.
2. She hits the ceiling.
3. He's a fast talker.
4. It's up in the air.
5. He's the pain on my neck.
6. Don't get high head.

Are these all idioms?
I want to pick up more for daily conversation. Are there good links that I can refer to?

Thanks.
 

Charlie Bernstein

VIP Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
There're some expressions that I found difficult to understand as follows.

1. I​'m all ears.
2. She hits the ceiling.
3. He's a fast talker.
4. It's up in the air.
5. He's ​a pain ​in the neck.
6. Don't get a big head.

You can just look them up online. (Except for fast talker. That means exactly what it says.)

Go to Google. Type in the phrase plus the word definition:

- all ears definition
- hit the ceiling definition
- up in the air definition
- pain in the neck definition
- big head definition.


Are these all idioms?

No. We call them cliches, turns of speech, common expressions.


I want to pick up more for daily conversation. Are there good links that I can refer to?

Google common cliches.


Thanks.

You're welcome!
 

Roman55

Key Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Italy
Current Location
France

Ju

Key Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
You're welcome!

I googled "turns of speech", but still don't exactly get what it means. Does it mean the way of talking, e.g. the words and attitudes ones used during conversation?
 

Charlie Bernstein

VIP Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I googled "turns of speech", but still don't exactly get what it means. Does it mean the way of talking, e.g. the words and attitudes ones used during conversation?
I gave you three synonyms: cliches, common expressions, turns of speech. Again, just Google common cliches.
 

Doug Mazzacua

New member
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I disagree. A fast talker is a persuasive person, (who may or may not talk fast).

I wouldn't use the term "fast talker" to describe an honest person who is persuasive. The term "fast talker" has a negative connotation, and implies that the person doing the "fast talking" is using quick speech or other rhetorical tricks in order to cheat or deceive someone.
 

probus

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Canada
Current Location
Canada
Yes. Definitely negative connotations. The prototypical fast talkers were probably auctioneers and carney barkers.
 

chuoiit23

New member
Joined
Mar 18, 2018
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Turkmen
Home Country
Antilles
Current Location
Vietnam
This is a great article. It gave me a lot of useful information. thank you very much.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

teechar

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
Iraq
Current Location
Iraq
This is a great thread. [STRIKE]article.[/STRIKE] It gave me a lot of useful information. Thank you very much.
Hello chuoiit23, and welcome to the forum. :)

Note that I have removed the external link in your post. If you have a homepage, you can add that to your profile. Please also correct the info on your profile.
 

Weinal

New member
Joined
Jul 4, 2018
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
One that I learned from a Spanish speaker that's supposedly fairly local is subir las hormigas. The literal translation--"to raise the ants"--doesn't make sense; idiomatically, though, it refers to someone who's so absent-minded that they wouldn't notice it if they were standing on an anthill.
smile.png






_____________________________________________________________________________
There are no solved problems; there are only problems that are more or less solved.
All the best,Weinal Diceus

 
Last edited:

jamesplesis

New member
Joined
Aug 2, 2018
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
Pakistan
Current Location
Pakistan
you will learn more from this link

link deleted by moderator
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
You will learn more from this link:

link deleted by moderator
You're welcome to the forum, James, and you no doubt mean well, but we need to get to know new members better before we click on external links which may prove to be unhelpful or even damaging.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top