Speaking naturally in English with Masami, I often use a partial quote or idiom to express my thoughts or feelings. An idiom is a phrase that expresses a thought or feeling in a non-literal way. It can be a short way to communicate a longer explanation. Although this is natural to a native or experienced English speaker, it doesn't help the second language learner.
Below are some idioms I use with their meanings, see how many you can guess!
|
IDIOM |
MEANING |
|
Haven't (got ) the foggiest (idea) |
Absolutely doesn't know something |
|
(Have) itchy feet |
Strong feeling to travel or move on |
|
Under the weather |
Not very well |
|
Over the moon |
Extremely happy |
|
(Once) in a blue moon |
Very rarely |
I sold my DVDs to a reuse / recycle shop. I got rid of them and got money for them, too. Two birds with one stone.
I've got itchy feet, I really want to go to another country.
I'm feeling under the weather so I'll stay in bed today.
My football team won the final, I'm over the moon!
My football team wins once in a blue moon.
The meanings of idioms aren't always obvious, however, sometimes there is a similar idiom in your native language or you can guess from the context of the sentence. If someone uses an idiom and you don't understand, tell them you don't understand.
Language is about communication and not knowing an idiom stops communication. Because the speaker uses an idiom, they want to express themselves but if the listener doesn't understand what they are trying to share, the meaning is misunderstood or lost.
Idioms are in all languages but I don't recommend learning them. There are too many to learn, they are difficult to remember, it's easy to use them incorrectly and there is rarely a time you can use one; once in a blue moon, perhaps? It's much easier to ask, “ What do you mean by, ' I haven't the foggiest . ' ? ” .
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