IDIOMS - What Do They Mean?

IDIOMS

Definition of IDIOMS

A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light). - Oxford Dictionary

An idiom (Latin: idioma, "special property", f. Greek: ἰδίωμα – idiōma, "special feature, special phrasing", f. Greek: ἴδιος – idios, "one’s own") is a combination of words that have a figurative meaning owing to its common usage. An idiom's figurative meaning is separate from the literal meaning. There are thousands of idioms and they occur frequently in all languages. There are estimated to be at least twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the English language. - Wikipedia

An idiom is a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words, which can make idioms hard for ESL students and learners to understand. - Idiomsite.com

Examples

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The following sentences contain idioms. The fixed words constituting the idiom in each case are bolded

a. She is pulling my leg. - to pull someone's leg means to trick them by telling them something untrue.

b. When will you drop them a line? - to drop someone a line means to send a note to or call someone.

c. You should keep an eye out for that. - to keep an eye out for something means to maintain awareness of it so that you notice it as it occurs.

d. I can't keep my head above water. - to keep one's head above water means to manage a situation.

e. It's raining cats and dogs. - to rain cats and dogs means to rain very heavily (a downpour).

f. Oh no! You spilled the beans! - to spill the beans means to let out a secret.

g. Why are you feeling blue? - to feel blue means to feel sad.

h. That jacket costs an arm and a leg. – an arm and a leg means something is very expensive.

i. It is not rocket science. – rocket science means something is difficult. Figuratively, not rocket science means not difficult.

j. Put a cork in it. - put a cork in it is an extremely impolite, informal way to say, shut up, be quiet, and stop talking.