idiom

An idiom is a term whose meaning cannot be determined from the literal meanings of the words it is made of.

Many idioms are figurative—they’re intended to create an image, association, or other effect in the mind of the listener or reader that goes beyond the literal meaning or expected use of the words involved.

It is raining cats and dogs is a common English idiom. Literally, that sentence would mean animals are falling from the clouds. What the idiom actually means is that it is raining very heavily.

Here are some more examples of common English idioms:

• Hit the sack means to go to sleep.
• Under the weather means sick.
• You can say that again means a person has said something true and you agree.

Many phrasal verbs are idioms since they include a word (often a preposition) whose literal meaning doesn’t apply. Some examples are take off (like an airplane), give out (meaning to distribute), and open up (which means the same thing as open). Sometimes, two different phrasal verbs can mean the same thing even when their prepositions are usually opposites. For example, lock up and lock down can both mean to secure a place by locking the doors and similar actions.

Idioms are common in most languages. Over time, native speakers of a language learn many idioms that they use without thinking about them. Because their meanings can’t be figured out from their parts, idioms can be very difficult for nonnative speakers to understand.

The adjective form of idiom is idiomatic. For example, break a leg is an idiomatic expression that means “good luck.”

The first records of the term idiom come from the 1560s. It ultimately comes from the Greek idíōma, meaning “peculiarity” or “specific property.” Idioms exist in even the most ancient languages.

Idioms are a type of figure of speech. Metaphors and similes are also figures of speech. We use figures of speech all the time, even if we don’t even realize it, and for good reason. They allow us to express ideas in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

Idioms make language more colorful and interesting, but they can also make it harder to understand.

The word idiom can also be used in a more general way to refer to a language, dialect, or style of speaking that’s specific to a particular group of people.

Here are some examples of common English idioms and their meanings:

• Bite the bullet: complete an undesirable task
• Blessing in disguise: a good thing that seemed bad at first
• To make a long story short: to summarize
• Get bent out of shape: to become upset
• Cross that bridge when we come to it: handle a problem when it arises
• Your guess is as good as mine: I don’t know
• Costs an arm and a leg: costs a lot of money

People use idioms every day and often enjoy learning new ones.

Today I learned the Eastern European translation of the English idiom, “Kill two birds with one stone”:
“Shoot two rabbits with the same bullet”.

Theirs is way cooler than ours, gonna start using that.

— Andrew Choi (@ChoiVGK) August 18, 2020

Me: *uses an idiom*
Brain: let’s spend the next hour thinking of where that phrase came from

— Emet Selch’s gay little wave (@EmetSelchSimp) August 19, 2020

• figure of speech
• literal
• figurative
• language
• phrase
• expression
• metaphor
• allegory
• analogy
• allusion

True or False?

An idiom is an expression that literally says what it means.