if you are an advanced learner of
english or simply curious about idioms
their meanings and origins it may help
to truly understand what an idiom is
so what is an idiom
before i begin i should point out that
not all experts agree on just how to
precisely define an idiom or on when
something should be called an idiom or
not
however for most of us this shouldn't
matter as long as we understand the
basics
an idiom is an expression
an expression is a significant word or
phrase used to convey an idea
did i say word
yes
contrary to popular belief a single word
can be an idiom
for example if i said you're a real life
saver am i literally saying you saved my
life
no
lifesaver is an idiom
what i really mean is you did me a big
favor
but it's true that an idiom is usually a
phrase
a phrase is a group of words forming a
syntactical unit in other words it's a
group of words that act together to
convey an idea or meaning but which are
not themselves a sentence or complete
clause
unlike other phrases though an idiom
behaves more like a word
and once in a while like i said a single
word is used as an idiom
also unlike other phrases the meaning of
an idiom is not always easy to tell
based on the words used
they mean something different than they
appear to mean
now i've noticed that many idiom
teachers treat learners of english as if
they are new to idioms you are not new
to idioms every language has its own
idioms
and some idioms are similar across
languages
i said that idioms don't mean what they
appear to mean that's because idioms are
almost always figurative or in other
words metaphorical
what if i said you hit the nail on the
head
you might think i don't even have a
hammer
well i don't mean it literally
despite these confusing figurative
meanings as a native speaker you use
idioms every day just like you use words
you don't have to think about them they
just roll off your tongue
you know what they mean just as you know
what the words of your language mean
but idioms in other languages which you
did not grow up speaking can seem like
complete nonsense
so much of what we say relies on
grammatical rules
when speaking or writing we make choices
based on a large number of rules
resulting in an astounding number of
different word combinations
idioms don't abide by these rules
they change everything
they are pre-constructed or at least
partially pre-constructed and set and
they resist being analyzed by examining
their parts
and some idioms are more limited than
other types of expressions and how they
can be used they are uni-taskers
words cannot be substituted and tenses
cannot be changed for example without
changing the meaning
an example often given is the idiom kick
the bucket
you cannot say the bucket was kicked and
haven't mean the same thing
these types of idioms are called frozen
idioms
now not all idioms are frozen idioms and
i'll get more into that a little later
despite what you've probably been led to
believe
idioms are not always completely
unanalyzable
as a matter of fact this is one reason i
try to include the source or origins of
the idioms in my videos and as far as i
know i'm the only channel who tries to
do this for every single idiom i discuss
if i don't know the origin try to
discuss the illusion what does the idiom
allude to what's the central metaphor
understanding the origin helps you to
analyze the idiom which helps you to
remember the meaning and to learn to use
it correctly as opposed to being frozen
many idioms are at least partially
compositional and certain words can be
changed with the idioms still being
understood
for example to open a can of worms means
to do something that makes things more
complicated than they were before
thus giving you more problems than you
would have had if you had left things as
they were
we can understand the can of worms as
corresponding to all the other problems
and opening as corresponding to the
action that brought about all these
other problems
we might even say open the proverbial
can of worms thus underscoring the
metaphor and calling attention to the
fact that can of worms means the same
thing as many problems
i could even use only part of the idiom
leave out the open and say that's a real
can of worms and be understood by native
speakers
so idioms are not so straightforward and
meaningless as many sources lead us to
believe
the idea that they are nonsensical word
jumbles that have been assigned
arbitrary meanings is certainly not true
when you are learning idioms keep in
mind that they can be very context
dependent
in fact many idioms are only used in
certain situations and this is very
important
and the situations they are used in can
give us clues to their analysis
for example we've already seen that the
idiom can of worms would be used in a
situation in which one is dealing with a
problem or set of problems
likewise we would never have to break
the ice with our best friend
this idiom would only be used in regards
to social tension or unease
and the words that surround idioms are
part of that context
if i say i'm not ready to stop working
i'm not an old man
yet they want to put me out to pasture
you may understand that being put out to
pasture has something to do with growing
older and retiring
and if you find out that put out to
pasture has a literal meaning for cows
you may be able to put all this
information together and figure out the
meaning of the idiom
idioms are also sometimes confused with
aphorisms
aphorisms are short sayings which convey
or attempt to convey a general truth
they are sometimes called proverbs
idioms can often behave like aphorisms
and aphorisms can sometimes behave like
idioms
idioms can also be slang
let's talk about idioms versus slang in
a little more detail
because this is a question that often
comes up what is the difference between
idioms and slang
this makes sense because when you look
at enough idioms they seem similar to
what most of us would call slang
so is there a difference at all
let's call a spade a spade
in fact there's not really a succinct
difference
although as i stated there is not one
universally accepted definition of idiom
a fairly standard definition is
two or more words used together as a
unit that has a special meaning
not derived from the meanings of the
words separately
the only difference between slang and
any other commonly used parts of the
language is that slang is not yet and
may never be
commonly used by all speakers of the
language
here is how the oxford english
dictionary defines it
a type of language consisting of words
and phrases that are regarded as very
informal and are more common in speech
than writing and are typically
restricted to a particular context or
group of people
once a slang term or phrase is widely
accepted into the culture and begins to
be used by everyone rather than by
certain groups
it is no longer slang
many idioms are used in formal books and
many informal idioms are used in
everyday conversation
however some idioms are slang phrases
these may be considered rude annoying
uncouth etc but they are still idioms
why should it be an idiom if i say it's
raining cats and dogs but slang if i say
that's such a cop-out
as common as the idiom cop-out actually
is you won't hear people of all ages and
walks of life saying it but anyone might
say it's raining cats and dogs to refer
to a heavy downpour
still both are idioms regardless
to keep it simple just remember that not
all slang phrases are idioms and not all
idioms are different than slang
for that matter a catchphrase may well
be an idiom
we say read my lips to mean listen to
what i'm saying very closely
but it's also a catchphrase often used
mockingly and associated with president
george h.w bush who said it during his
campaign
read my lips no new taxes
now we need to discuss idioms versus
cliches
idioms are used like words
therefore some are heard so often they
become cliches
for example i used a cliche before call
a spade a spade
this phrase is often considered
hackneyed perhaps because it has been
used in so many dime detective novels
it fits the definition of an idiom quite
well though
now after watching this video you may
not know idioms backwards and forwards
but you're certainly learning the ropes
i just used two idioms in a row
did you recognize them
can you figure out what they mean based
on the context
let me know in the comments below
before i put this video to bed that's an
idiom there are a few things i want to
personally convey to you
if you are an esl student you certainly
face many challenges in learning english
idioms
however the more important goal is to
learn to understand them so that you can
keep from being bewildered by native
speakers and you can respond
appropriately
even if you do not use an idiom in
response
many sources pretend as if you
absolutely must learn to use all the
idioms that they are used as often as
regular words
this is a gross exaggeration
it's just not true not even close
learning to use as many idioms as you
can correctly will make you sound like a
more natural speaker but you will not
sound odd or robotic all the time if you
fail to use them
and if you're studying for a test well i
hope my videos help
so if you want help learning english
idioms backwards and forwards idioms
online is the channel for you
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and thank you so much for watching
[Music]
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