04/02/14

Idioms are Idiotic

Let sleeping dogs lie. Huh?

One of my communication skills clients, Ann, asked me to help her understand idioms. She is not a native American English speaker. She must use English for work. She has excellent grammar and a good vocabulary. Idioms are really confusing for this very bright person.

Idioms are expressions or sayings that don’t make sense when translated word for word. Somehow, they are logical to those of us who are native speakers. They often have cultural nuances. For the non-native speaker, idioms and their meanings simply have to be learned by rote.

Because of Ann’s request, I became aware of how we string idioms together and use them mindlessly. I confess to ignoring that not everyone understands these phraseologies.

Here are a few idioms we use without thinking. What if we took them literally?

“See eye to eye.” Does that mean you are the same height as someone you’re looking at?

“A chip on your shoulder.” Does that mean you have a Pringles balanced on your upper, upper arm?

“Everything but the kitchen sink.” Does that mean the refrigerator, stove and dishwasher? The George Forman Grill, too?

“Long in the tooth.” Does that mean a cosmetic dentist should be called?”

“Under the weather.” Is over the weather the opposite?

“Cut off your nose to spite your face.” Is this what Joan River’s plastic surgeon said to her a few procedures ago?

“Too big for your britches.” What day is the Weight Watchers’ meeting?

“Pull the rug out from under you.” Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!

All languages have idioms. “Avoir le cafard” literally translates from the French as “to have the cockroach.” What it means is that you are so bored you are inert. Huh?

The Irish are known for their sayings. Here are a few that can’t be taken literally.

“You must take the little potato with the big potato.” We’re not talking carbs here.

“It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.” Now that’s a trick I’d like to see.

There are thousands of idioms. You probably have opportunities to speak with people who aren’t native American English speakers. Be aware that what you say may make perfect sense to you, but not to them.

After all, they may march to the beat of a different drummer and think you’re off your rocker. It’s no skin off your nose to make what you say as clear as a bell. If someone looks like a deer in the headlights, don’t clam up. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Better safe than sorry!

Gotta fly. Catch you later.

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