Attack of the Idioms!

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They came out of the sky. They were huge, and powerful and full of meaning. At the same time, hard to understand. They were idioms!

The most amazing thing of all about idioms is that they are from our own planet. In fact they are from our own culture.

Idioms by definition are a group of words carrying a meaning not deductible by the meaning of the individual words. Every language and every culture has them. Understanding the idioms of a language and culture can mean you are truly literate(or bi-literate). Not having a clue as to what an idiom means can indicate just the opposite. It could also mean that your area of expertise is very literal and mechanical. It may be an indicator of your tendency to read only for assembly and operation instructions, and not to read for pleasure or entertainment. Many idioms are found in fiction and few are found in non fiction.

Regardless of whether you read them or hear them in conversation, the understanding of idioms can make the difference between feeling like the world around you is understandable and predictable, as opposed to confusing and unpredictable. It can be the difference between a black and white image and one bursting with color.

Let's look at a few common examples of idioms:

1) It costs and arm and a leg.

Wow! What ever IT is, it is really expensive! No one wants to give up an arm and a leg in exchange for something. What could be worth that? Becoming handicapped is seldom the approach of choice.

As you can see from this example, idioms transfer meaning that is not always exactly what the words indicate. Instead of saying that something is not worth the sacrifice it would take to obtain it,or that it is not worth the cost, an idiom gets the meaning across in a subtle and colorful way.

2) Handle it like a hot potato!

You can imagine, or may have actually experienced, exactly how uncomfortable and potentially damaging it can be to hold a hot potato. They stay hot for a very long time, can burn you, and are best transferred to another person or heat proof surface quickly--before the experience becomes excessively uncomfortable.

3) Actions speak louder than words.

We've all known people who hand out good advice. The advice is often on touchy subjects such as diet, drinking, or relationships. These same people then proceed to do exactly the opposite of their advice. Their actions are louder than their words.

4) Don't add insult to injury.

Who would do that? kick a person when they are down: Add fuel to the fire? See, idioms abound! Unfortunately, adding insult to injury is all too common. Given a bad situation, the last thing the sufferer needs is a negative comment or derogatory categorization.

5) He was barking up the wrong tree.

Imagine you are hunting with a pack of hunting dogs. All the dogs are clustered around one tree, barking their heads off. One dog is at a nearby tree, frantically barking. Obviously that dog is "a few bricks short of a load". He will probably not be included in the next hunt. His judgement is in question. His ability to discern the correct location of his attention or pursuit of purpose is fallible or his function is open to interpretation.

There are hundreds of other idioms in just the English language and American culture. Understanding and and interpreting them indicates cultural and verbal literacy. It is a fascinating study which includes history, economics, language, influences, psychology, medicine, relationships: the connections are endless.

Understanding idioms is key to understanding culture.

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