in this video we're going to discuss a
popular question in regards to english
sings or expressions
what's the difference between a proverb
and an idiom
benjamin franklin supposedly once said
time is money is that a proverb or an
idiom after all benjamin franklin is
given credit for many english proverbs
for this video i'm going to assume that
you already know what an idiom is so i'm
not going to go deep into defining an
idiom i've already made another video
explaining everything you need to know
about idioms so if you're not sure watch
that one first i'll link it in the
description
but what is a proverb
a proverb is generally described as a
short catchy phrase that expresses some
universal truth it tells us how we
should behave or give some advice
or gives us a moral lesson they are
often entire sentences
some proverbs have become idioms so it
gets confusing
however idioms encompass words phrases
and more that go way beyond proverbs
idioms subsume proverbs in other words
proverbs can be absorbed into idiomatic
language
one main difference to look for is that
an idiom's meaning generally cannot be
ascertained by the words used so many
times but not always they do not have a
literal meaning or their literal meaning
does not make sense
maybe it doesn't make sense absolutely
or it just doesn't make sense in the
context in which it is used
if i say john is blowing smoke and john
doesn't even smoke that makes no literal
sense it's a figure of speech or idiom
on the other hand you will tend to find
more often that the literal meaning of a
proverb does make sense it's only when
you apply that proverb to broader
situations that the true intent or
usefulness becomes clear
contrary to popular belief many proverbs
are quite literal for example an apple a
day keeps the doctor away
this is not a metaphor it's literal and
it's a complete sentence unlike most
idioms
if i use the proverb don't cry over
spilled milk you can see that it does
have an understandable literal meaning
if you spill some milk don't cry because
of it but why would i say this its
literal meaning holds no significance
but if we apply it to broader situations
and realize that spilt milk is a
metaphor for something that cannot be
undone we realize what the proverb means
there is no use in crying over past
events or problems that you cannot
change however don't cry over spilt milk
is a proverb that has become an idiom so
when a saying passes into general usage
it can become an idiom and we now see
that sometimes idioms do have literal
meanings that make sense even though
they hold no special significance we can
also say that spilt milk has a
metaphorical or idiomatic meaning within
the phrase
but not all idioms come from proverbs
so some proverbs are idioms but not all
idioms are proverbs as well we can call
some idioms proverbial by their nature
even if they didn't originate as a
proverb
i used a non-proverbial idiom before in
this video on the other hand
on the other hand could have a literal
meaning for example i have a cut on the
other hand so i don't want to get it wet
but on the other hand made no literal
sense in the sentence i used before
it has an idiomatic meaning and is used
to introduce a contrasting fact or a
different point of view etc
we can however describe a metaphorical
or idiomatic meaning for the other hand
if we imagine that we are holding two
different concepts or ideas in each hand
so after referring to one hand we now
refer to the other hand which holds a
different concept
this is why it's so difficult to put
idioms proverbs slang aphorisms etc into
handy categories and define them all as
distinct and separate
many of these categories overlap my
advice to english learners is that if
you are trying to understand a common
phrase do not worry whether or not you
should consider it an idiom a proverb or
anything else that's the kind of thing
they ask you on english test which is
silly because it doesn't have anything
to do with learning the language and it
certainly doesn't prove whether you are
fluent
just try to understand it and learn how
to use it correctly and perhaps whether
you should use it
if you want to use it
while this channel is concerned
primarily with idioms i'll confess that
at the end of the day i do not even
concern myself with whether a certain
phrase i'm explaining is really an idiom
i am only concerned that i help you
understand it
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