Learning idioms is a waste of time

 Learning idioms is a waste of time because they are not often used in real life. Many idioms that English language learners learn such as raining cats and dogs are largely redundant.

You can say that old idioms are replaced by newer ones such as chocolate teapot or bad hair day but how often would you get the chance to use them? In terms of an input/output ratio, the time spent learning idioms in relation to their usefulness is disproportionately high – so, it’s a waste of time.

 Or is it?

 This used to be my view until I started learning Polish and the teacher gave me some animal idioms to learn; such as – sklepy jak kret – blind as a mole, dumny jak paw – proud as a peacock. Somehow they stuck and I learnt adjectives and structure as well. Some idioms such as Keeping up with the Joneses, Dressed up to the nines and the Full Monty have interesting origins which tell you something about the culture of target language.

 Learning idioms is useful and interesting

 Learning idioms is by no means the most important thing you can do when learning a language but it can add colour to your speech and depth to your understanding; it can also be a lot of fun and while ever you are having fun you are likely to learn with ease and enthusiasm. You just have to take the bull by the horns and go for it!

 Look out for English for Idioms due out before Christmas! http://www.english4hr.com/

 Here’s a scene from the Full Monty where a group of redundant steel workers form a strip group and go the full monty!

Image via Wikipedia

Distant as it may seem we did actually have a fairly good summer here in the UK this year, and when the good weather arrives so too do the avid gardeners, escaping from their homes with their tools in hand! We did quite a bit of work in our own garden at home this year, you may remember that i did a previous article regarding the construction of our new Koi pond, well its doing fine even though it has an 8 inch layer of ice on it at present!

I wouldn’t say im an exhibitionist, but i would say i am comfortable with my body and how it looks! so when working in the garden i like to feel cool and comfortable, so when the sun is shinning down and my body is over heating i do what a few people would do and strip away my layers of clothing, don’t worry i don’t go the “full Monty” hell that doesn’t bare thinking of, but i do take my top layers off, IE t-shirt, trousers etc and strip down to my well aired,sports shorts.

My partner is never comfortable about this and would never follow suit! yet i have an air of confidence so i am very comfortable in all areas of sexuality and form etc, when getting out of the shower i will gladly walk through to our changing area without a stitch of clothing on, is this wrong? do you think im weird or have some sort of problem? i feel im normal! i would never do this sort of thing in the public glare unless on a nudist beach, then i guess i would probably give it a go! I would never do it to attract attention but feel its OK in the comfort of my own home!

Please tell me what you think, i dont want to come across as some kind of crazy guy, all im trying to say is im comfortable with who i am, whats wrong with that?

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Today was the day.  I arranged by phone to meet Ewan at the Benn Hall.  I turned up at the Town Hall at 9.25am as arranged only to be told that I should be at the Benn Hall and that “lots of people make that mistake”.  How stupid did I feel?  Benn Hall as you know is only next door.  So I rushed round and was not late but just on time.  Met Ewan, looked like he was just out of school.  A wise head on young shoulders.  We went through an induction process where he told me what they could do in terms of CV writing and interview skills and job searching.  Some of it sounded like I was still at school being lectured but in reality it was sound stuff.  I had to complete a literacy and numeracy test.  Got 49 out of 50 on the numeracy and 80 out of 80 on the literacy.  Not too difficult.  The numeracy one I got wrong was about converting a 24 hour clock time to 12 hour time.  Ok I rushed it because it really was not difficult.  A two day old baby could have got it right.

Ok said Ewan from here you have to attend two weekly sessions for 4 hours each.  I was a little shocked as I only wanted some interview skills training and I didn’t think it would take all that long.  But actually Ewan explained that I could use their computers to search and apply for jobs, use their paper, envelopes and stamps for letters, use their resources for acquiring interview skills, search for possible training courses which they would fund and, above all, drink their tea and coffee.  I was going to ask if they do biscuits or cakes as well, but I chose not to as they seemed quite generous already. 

This was a bit like the old Job Club that used to exist in the 70’s and 80’s, just like in the Full Monty.  But with my physique I am unlikely to end up stripping so I hope it’s not compulsory.   Actually it was probably exactly like the old job clubs but updated for the new millennium ie computers instead of newspapers.  I looked around to see what other people were there as most had drifted in well after I arrived.  They were not exactly at the upper end of the job searching market!  One or two looked like they had forgotten to wash this morning.  A couple of the men must have left their supermarket trolleys outside and one woman was wider than she was tall and she was almost 6’ tall (she would be good in the Full Monty!!).  Several were sitting around doing crosswords and other word puzzles.  Some were actually using the computers although I could not see what they were looking at.  I guessed that if the computers had sound then we would probably be listening to lots of panting and cries of ecstasy!  Ewan explained that they were all networking.  So that’s networking I thought, now I know!   A little unfair.  There was a meeting at the end of the room with a leader extolling the virtues of a good CV and how it should be constructed.  So something useful was going on.

Ewan explained that because of my requirements and level of job search that I would be seen on a one to one basis.  Thank god I thought!  Again, a little unfair of me.  These people (or some of them at least) must have been as serious as me about finding a suitable job otherwise they wouldn’t be here surely.

On the way home I convinced myself that this club thing would be good.  At least it would get me out of the house doing what I am doing when I am here.

Cut the Mustard:

This saying actually refers to the zest or zip of mustard. Someone who can no longer cut the mustard has lost his zip.

Balls to the wall:

Although I know you can come up with a colourful meaning that needs no explanation from me for this one, the real meaning of the phrase comes from old fighter planes. The balls were the knobs on the throttle controls and when the pilot gave full throttle, the knobs were pushed all the way toward the wall of the cockpit.

The Full Monty:

Sir Montague Burton (not Monty Python) who was a tailor by trade, was known in his business for his made to order men’s three piece dress suits complete with waistcoat. It is said that repeat customers would explain their suit of choice by simply asking for the “Full Monty.”

Dead as a door nail:

At one time nails were salvaged for reuse when buildings were torn down. The door nail was driven right through and then bent over at the end. This way it couldn’t work it’s way out from the continuous opening and closing of the door. Door nails were never salvageable and were considered to be “dead.”

Freeze the balls off a brass monkey:

Nope! It’s not a brass door knocker on a cold winter’s day. Cannon balls used to be piled pyramid style on a low wooden triangle shaped platform. It was made with a lip of about 2 inches which held the bottom balls from rolling off. This platform was called a monkey. The wood wore out easily so brass platforms were devised. They were far more sturdy but, in very cold weather the brass would freeze. This would cause the metal to contract squeezing the bottom layer of balls up and out of place sending the balls scattering in the ground. (Young boys who carried and set the powder for cannons were called Powder Monkeys)

Dead Ringer:

This is an old gambling expression used in horse racing. Shady horse owners would have two horses who looked enough alike to be mistaken for one another. One horse was slow and the other horse was fast. The slow horse would was run enough times for people to lose interest in betting on them. Once the odds were at a desired level, they would switch to the fast horse called the ringer. Dead meant a dead shot or dead stop. Hence, the name Dead Ringer.

A perfect toss in the game of horse shoes. The horse shoe hits and spins around post making a ringing sound. This is also called a dead ringer.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater:

Before the luxury of running water and modern day bathrooms, Sunday night’s were family bath night. The water would be heated on the wood stove or in the hearth in a large pot and the water was poured into a tin wash tub. Because father was the bread winner and the head of the house, he would be the first to bathe. Next came the sons, mother, daughters and last of all baby. Long before baby’s bath time, the water was very dirty holding seven days worth of dirt from up to eight or more family members. People often joked that one day they would not be able to see baby in the dirty bathwater and accidentally throw throw them out along with the dirty bath water.

Cat’s pajamas:

This phrase comes from the early 1800’s. The English taylor, E.B. Katz made silk pajamas for royalty and the wealthy. They were said to be the finest pajamas made anywhere in the land and they soon came to be known as Kat’z pajamas.

One meaning of an idiom is a grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language. We can tell by the examples above that they are indeed peculiar. In their day, they may have made perfect sense, through the years people continue to use the sayings but their meanings became lost in time and we tend to attach modern meaning to these age old sayings. Now when we mention “Full Monty’” it is a reference to someone without clothes, when we hear “Balls To The Wall” we think of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and many people now refer to a brass door knocker as the originating meaning of “Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey.”