Each country even each language has its own compilation of sayings. They give us a sense of their culture, ideas and values as a society. These sayings are called idioms or proverbs. They work as a figurative language and they are an important part of everyday speech of native speakers. An Idiom according to oxford dictionary is “a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words. for example, let the cat out of the bag’ is an idiom meaning to tell a secret by mistake” Learning some idioms and expressions can help English nonnative speakers to sound more natural and also understanding the language expressions in a very informal speaking with friends and people in regular conversation. In ESL students idioms are not commonly taught, they hardly use idioms in their speech. But as they are a part of native speech here in charlotte English school we want to give you a list of easy idioms that you must add to your personal use compilation.
Break a leg
buena suerte
Miss the boat
es muy tarde ( para hacer algo)
No pain, no gain
hay que trabajar duro por lo que se quiere.
Hit the sack
ir a dormir
A penny for your thoughts
dime lo que estás pensando.
Break the ice
romper el hielo ( hacer sentir cómodo a alguien)
A penny saved is a penny earned
el dinero que ahorres hoy, puedes necesitar mañana
Cost an arm and a leg
algo muy costoso
It’s a piece of cake
pan comido ( algo facil)
Now we give you a list of some not very common idioms used by natives:
Can do with
cuando algo te provoca hacer algo , comer algo , etc
Rub something in
aplicar algo crema, guento, etc
Call in
visita rápida
Shek around
esperar
Mess about
molestar a alguien
deep pocket
alguien con mucho dinero
Stick with it
apegarse a algo
Just go with it
seguir la corriente
To have it in for :
tenersela jurada a alguien
By all means
por su puesto
have on
cuando te toman el pelo
To be dead from the neck up
no tener dos dedos de frente
Dig ( same as like)
cuando algo te gusta mucho
Ace
genial
ex: the game was ace
All mouth and no trousers
habla mucho y no hace nada
Close call
algo terrible casi sucede
The fuzz
la policía
tater tale
contar un secreto ( chisme)
Written by : Lic. Dana Pacheco and teacher Luis Chacin collaboration
- Oxford dictionary of current idiomatic English . London: Oxford University Press.
