ms. pankey ajhs 2014. idioms are words, phrases, or expressions whose meaning cannot be taken...

MIDTERM REVIEW: IDIOMS

AND IMAGERYMs. Pankey

AJHS

2014

WHAT ARE IDIOMS? Idioms are words, phrases, or

expressions whose meaning cannot be taken literally, but are used figuratively.

WAIT – What is the difference between literal and figurative meaning?

LITERAL – The words mean EXACTLY what they say

FIGURATIVE – The words don’t mean exactly what they say, but something different or exaggerated.

FOR EXAMPLE: One common English idiom is:

“It’s raining cats and dogs!” If this expression was taken literally, then

that would mean that actual cats and dogs are raining down from the sky.

However, we know this is not true.When people say that “it’s rainingcats and dogs!” they mean it in a figurative way. It’s figurative meaning is that it israining very hard!

AGAIN, Idioms are expressions or phrases that

don’t literally mean what they say, but instead have a figurative meaning that people learn from speaking the language.

This is why learning a new language can be so difficult sometimes! Every language has its own idioms that don’t mean what they actually say – but the language learner doesn’t know what they actually mean!

A good way to tell if a phrase is an idiom is to imagine what it would literally mean. Does that make any sense? No? It’s probably an idiom!

COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS

Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning

See eye to eye =

Agree

IDIOM: The couple could not see eye to eye on their Christmas plans.



Under the weather =

Sick, not feeling well

IDIOM: I can’t come in to work today. I’m feeling a little under the weather.



A piece of cake =

Easy, no problem

IDIOM: That Outsiders test was a piece of cake!



Tie the knot =

Get married

IDIOM: Sarah and Adnan are going to tie the knot next summer!



Hit the hay =

Go to bed, go to sleep

IDIOM: Whew! It’s been a long day. Time to hit the hay!



Bury the hatchet =

Stop fighting/arguing, move on from a disagreement

IDIOM: I’m tired to fighting about this. Let’s bury the hatchet.



Give the cold shoulder =

Ignore, pay no attention to

IDIOM: When I tried to apologize, he gave me the cold shoulder.

PRACTICE WITH IDIOMSWhen I told my mom I would be home around 2

am, she had a cow! a. My mom bought a baby cow. b. My mom is really strange. c. My mom was really upset.

To "egg on" means to ___. a. encourage b. discourage

"Use your noodle" means ___. a. act b. think

ms. pankey ajhs 2014. idioms are words, phrases, or expressions whose meaning cannot be taken...

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