Better @ Idioms: Recent Episodes
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The English language originated from West Germanic dialects around 550 AD. From being the language of England, it is now spoken in significant parts of the world.
Over the centuries English has become a flexible language by nature. It has developed through the years by adding words to enrich the vocabulary and creating various idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech which help in expressing what one wishes to say in a unique manner.
Talking specifically about idioms, these are a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words used in these.
So in this podcast, Better @ Idioms, we explain this very aspect of the idioms, the concept behind their origin, their meaning, usage and much more.
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"A Penny for your thoughts" is an idiom which means a way of asking what a person is thinking, listen in to know more.
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"Wrap Your Head Around Something" is an idiom which originated from the fact that a lot of mental activity is required to understand something difficult. Listen to know more.
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"Head in the clouds" is an idiom which originated from the time when there was no concept of aviation. It figuratively means to be inattentive, to be unrealistic or to be unaware of a situation. Listen in to know more.
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"Has the Cat got your Tongue?" idiom originates from the concept of sea sailors where they are supposed to keep secrets and a different kind of cat was the reason why they couldn't give them out. Listen in to know more.
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"Devil's Advocate" idiom originates from Latin, and has a very interesting meaning, listen in to know more.
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Which is bigger Matter or Mind? Why do we say "MInd Over Matter". This idiom has it roots in human evolution, listen in to find out more.
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A state of extreme happiness is often presented in English by saying "on cloud nine", a very interesting origin and first mention, this is definitely an interesting idiom.
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Perfect imagery of a person lying on a couch looking like a potato. Listen in to know more about this idiom "Couch Potato"
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Does "Lose Your Touch" has to literally do with touching something, or does it have a deeper meaning, listen in to know more.
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Often told off about our parents "Money doesn't grow on trees". Listen in to know its meaning, usage and supplements.
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"Run Around in Circles" stands for making repeated efforts but unable to get any result. Originating from horses running around the rings, this idiom can be replaced by many other words and phrases. Listen in to know more.
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Originating from the toss, where its undecided as to who won it while the coin is in the air, "Up In The Air" idiom is used quite a lot in English language. Listen in to know more about this idiom.
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"Break The Ice" idiom originated from the times when there were special ships which were sent in frozen sea waters to break the ice and make the ship movement easy. That is also the figurative meaning which is making an attempt to make situation comfortable in a tense environment. Listen in to know more.
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"Think of the Devil" is an idiom which originated around 16th century in England. Its origin in based on a superstitious belief that one must not talk about the devil otherwise the devil will be right behind one's elbow. Listen in to know more about it.
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"Pulling Someone's Leg" is a very popular and widely used idiom in English. It means to tease someone in a harmless manner. Its origin can be dated back to 18th and 19th century when after cornering the victim, thieves used to pull their legs to make them fall off guard and steal their belongings. Listen in to know more.
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"Having a Ball" which is mostly used in informal speech. It means enjoying yourself immensely. Its origin can be dated back to the times parties started. Listen in to know about when did this idiom was first used.
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Originating in1930s from the Royal Airforce, this idiom "A Piece of Cake" stands for something that is very easy to implement and is not difficult to achieve. Listen in to know more.
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"The Long Story Sort" stands for telling about a situation in brief, without giving explicit details. Originating from ancient time, it was first used in 1800's. Listen in to know more.
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"Break a Leg" stands for "good luck". Originating from the concept that back in the day theatre artists, actors, singer etc believed that wishing them good luck might work quite opposite to them, so they picked up something negative to wish people luck. Listen in to know more.
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Originated from an experiment done on dogs, by Ivan Pavlov a Russian Psychologist, where he conditioned the memory of dogs with the help of ringing a bell. "Ring a Bell" figuratively means
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Originated from the times when people used to ride animal pulled wagons, losing the reins from their hands meant losing control of the cart. This idiom "Out of Hands" has a figurative context. Listen in to know more.
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Is there a way to kill 2 birds by throwing one stone, well the closest in literal sense is the Double Trap Shooting. However, figuratively it means to accomplish two tasks with one effort. The origin of this idiom can be traced back to Greek Mythology, and its first mention can be dated back to the 17th Century.
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Inspired from a poster in 1970s, where a cat is seen hanging on a bamboo pole, determined to stay there and fight for its safety and existence. So figuratively this idiom "Hang in there" means do not give up, face the difficulty, keep on trying.
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Hit the Sack does not mean hitting a sack full of grains or any other thing with a stick, it instead is related to a a sack which was turned in to mattress in olden time for the purpose of sleeping on it. Listen in to know more about this widely used idiom.
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One of the most used, and earliest known idiom "Beat Around the Bush" stands for evasion of the topic, saying indirect things about something or digressing from the topic.
It originated from Hunting. When hunters beat around the bush in which the animal is hidden to startle them and bring them out of it. The first mention of this idiom can be dated back in 1440 in a poem "Generydes, a romance in seven lines stanza". Listen in to understand more why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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Most of us are intrigued by different celestial phenomenon, so much so that literary legends have used them figuratively to beautify various languages. One such often used idiom is "Once in a Blue Moon". But moon is white, isn't it, or is it blue on certain occasions?
The first mention of this idiom can be dated back in 1528 by William Loy and Jeremy Barlow, the language was middle English.
Listen in to understand why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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"Its Raining Cats and Dogs" idiom originates from the ancient Greek times from an expression Caxta and Doga which means unusual. Another is from Tudor times when there were thatched roofs of houses, nd their domestic animals on the roof used to come down in huge number when it rained
So what can be the meaning of this idiom, its definitely not cats and dogs falling from the sky, it actually is Heavy Rains.
The first mention of this idiom can be dated back in 1651 in a Henry Vaughen's poem collection.
Listen in to understand why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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"Under the Weather" idiom originates from the sailing ships. Where the weather is very unpredictable, therefore to escape the bad weather sailors were sent below the deck, literally under the bad weather which is at the surface of the sea.
The first mention of this idiom can be dated back to 1835 in the Jeffersonville daily evening news.
Listen in to understand why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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"Spill the Beans" idiom originates from the ancient Greek times when elections used to take place, people used to place beans of different colors in a jar to cast their vote. These beans were collected and counted to ensure the winner's name.
So what can be the meaning of this idiom, it is definitely not throwing handful of beans somewhere.
The first mention of this idiom can be dated back in 1908 in the Stephen's Point Journal.
Listen in to understand why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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"Burn the Midnight Oil" idiom originates from the times when there was no electricity and oil lamps were the only source of light during the nights.
So what can be the meaning of this idiom, it is definitely not burning some oil in the midnight on a cook stove.
Its first mention is in the 17th Century AD, in a work of Francis Quarles in his 1635 poem "Emblems".
Listen in to understand why this idiom is used figuratively in English language.
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