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May 25, 2018 · You use these idioms all the time, but have you ever wondered about the stories behind them? Find out why we "chew the fat," "fly off the handle," and more.
- Play It by Ear
- Raining Cats and Dogs
- Can’T Do Something to Save My Life
- Turn A Blind Eye
- Fat Chance
- Pot Calling The Kettle Black
- Once in A Blue Moon
- Head in The Clouds
- Mad as A Hatter
- Driving Me Up The Wall
Meaning: Playing something by ear means that rather than sticking to a defined plan, you will see how things go and decide on a course of action as you go along. Example: “What time shall we go shopping?” “Let’s see how the weather looks and play it by ear.” Origins: This saying has its origins in music, as “playing something by ear” means to play ...
Meaning: We Brits are known for our obsession with the weather, so we couldn’t omit a rain-related idiom from this list. It’s “raining cats and dogs” when it’s raining particularly heavily. Example: “Listen to that rain!” “It’s raining cats and dogs!” Origins: The origins of this bizarre phrase are obscure, though it was first recorded in 1651 in t...
Meaning: “Can’t do something to save your life” is a hyperbolic way of saying that you’re completely inept at something. It’s typically used in a self-deprecating manner or to indicate reluctance to carry out a task requested of one. Example: “Don’t pick me – I can’t draw to save my life.” Origins: Anthony Trollope first used this expression, in 18...
Meaning: To “turn a blind eye” to something means to pretend not to have noticed it. Example: “She took one of the cookies, but I turned a blind eye.” Origins: Interestingly, this expression is said to have arisen as a result of the famous English naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson, who, during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, is alleged to have de...
Meaning: We use the expression “fat chance” to refer to something that is incredibly unlikely. Bizarrely, and contrary to what one might expect, the related expression “slim chance” means the same thing. Example: “We might win the Lottery.” “Fat chance.” Origins: The origins of this expression are unclear, but the use of the word “fat” is likely to...
Meaning: We use this expression to refer to someone who criticises someone else, for something they they themselves are guilty of. Example: “You’re greedy.” “Pot calling the kettle black?” Origins: First used in the literature of the 1600s – notably Don Quixote by Cervantes – this expression has its origins in the Medieval kitchen, when both pots a...
Meaning: The phrase refers to something that happens very infrequently. Example: “I only see him once in a blue moon.” Origins: Confusingly, a blue moon doesn’t refer to the actual colour of the moon; it refers to when we see a full moon twice in one month. This happens every two to three years. It’s thought that the word “blue” may have come from ...
Meaning: Used to describe someone who is not being realistic, the expression “head in the clouds” suggests that the person isn’t grounded in reality and is prone to flights of fancy. The opposite expression would be something like “down to earth”, meaning someone who is practical and realistic. Example: “He’s not right for this role, he has his hea...
Meaning: “Mad as a hatter” refers to someone who is completely crazy. A similar expression is “mad as a March hare”. Example: “You could ask him, but he’s mad as a hatter.” Origins: This is an interesting one. While “hatter” refers to Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter character in Alice in Wonderland, the expression has its origins in the effects of the c...
Meaning: This expression is used when something (or someone) is causing extreme exasperation and annoyance. A similar expression meaning the same thing is “driving me round the bend”. Example: “That constant drilling noise is driving me up the wall.” Origins: The saying evokes someone trying desperately to escape something by climbing up the walls....
Feb 25, 2022 · An idiom is a non-literal expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the true meaning of its individual words. It comes to have its own meaning. But the concept is more easily understood by examples of its usage—like “raining cats and dogs,” “grab the bull by the horns,” “get cold feet,” or “cost an arm and a leg.”
Derivations. Many idiomatic expressions were meant literally in their original use, but sometimes the attribution of the literal meaning changed and the phrase itself grew away from its original roots—typically leading to a folk etymology.
Dec 10, 2020 · 1580s, "form of speech peculiar to a people or place;" meaning "phrase or expression peculiar to a language" is from 1620s; from French idiome (16c.) and directly from Late Latin idioma "a peculiarity in language," from Greek idioma "peculiarity, peculiar phraseology" (Fowler writes that "A manifestation of the peculiar" is "the closest ...
An idiom is a word or phrase whose meaning can’t be understood outside its cultural context. These expressions are usually figurative and would be nonsensical if read literally. For instance, break a leg isn’t a sadistic wish for someone to fracture a limb. It’s actually an idiom, meaning to wish someone good luck before a performance!
What Is an Idiom? An idiom is a phrase that comes to mean something totally different from its literal meaning. This meaning typically comes from the context in which it was first used, and later evolves to be used in other situations. 23 Common Idioms.
