Idioms are the best way to express what we have to
say, especially in more elegant, vibrant and economical manner. In most
instances, they allow us to express complex ideas in a very simplified manner
so that other people could understand and relate to them quickly.
Idioms also cause your mind to shift from the
reality of your situation to the abstract thought. They keep your mind
stimulated and focused. In fact, they
provide an outlet for expressive communication and a way for different people
to say the same thing but with different circumstantial reference.
It is actually impossible to avoid idiomatic
language altogether and many expressions which seem you are using and
understanding the language more like a native speaker would utilize, as the
idiom makes one to easily understand what you want to say to others in few
words.
The tough
part about mastering idioms is that knowing all the individual words may not
help you to understand the meaning of the phrase. For example, knowing the
meanings of ace and hole may not help you to understand the meaning of "An ace in the hole" - a
hidden strength or advantage.
What I feel is that the best way to learn idioms
is probably to immerse you into popular culture to have more exposure to them,
and ask a native speaker what they mean.
Different countries have different type of idioms
depending upon the culture of the particular country. But there are certain common idioms of the
same meaning but in different way.
For example, in Korean there is an expression
along the lines of ‘someone else’s rice
cake always looks bigger than yours.’ In English we would say ‘The grass is always greener on the other
side of the fence.’ Both of these sayings neatly and memorably express
the idea that something which you already have can be appealing just because it
belongs to someone else.
There is very interesting idiom ‘thinking outside the box’ to mean
not being constrained by conventional thinking and newspaper headlines, which
are short but meaningful and relevant to whole of the news, are a good example.
To say in idiomatic language about the achievements
made by someone is ‘Achievers never
expose themselves, but their achievements expose them’.
There are also some funny idioms like ‘storm in a
teacup’ means a lot of unnecessary anger and worry about a matter that is not
important.
Frankly speaking, idioms have significance in day
today life and sometime they are enjoyable way of using language and enjoyment
helps us to learn more effectively.
I recollect when I said to one of my friend who
used to be very active in using the idioms on every occasion, reacted to the
idiom – Early to bed, early to rise,
makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. He
said, these are old fashioned idioms, now the people have changed their life
styles and changed it by replacing the word ‘wise’
to ‘status wise’.
In another incident, teacher was stunned to hear
the statement of the boy that we should learn from the idioms from the other
angles also. He commented on the old Punjabi idiom with new idea on asking to
explain – chadhar vekh ke pair pasarne
chahide han – stretch your feet according to the sheet. The boy said, Sir, one should sleep with
stretched feet and know about the naked feet so that next day, he should work
hard to purchase new chadhar (sheet).
‘Do
and forget’ are the gone day’s idioms. In this
materialistic world, ‘do and popularize’
or ‘do before you die’ is the idiom
with new concept, now a day so that others may follow you.
Looking at lists of idioms can be interesting, but
my sincere advice is, don't try to use them unless you are sure you know how to
use them.
Wait for my book titled 'Frankly Speaking...'
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