Idiomatic English
Idiomatic English helps you sound cool and confident. But, it also helps you put your point across with greater precision and accuracy. As they say, you hit the nail on its head with idioms.
Don’t forget, however, that a lot of idioms are region specific. It means, only the people of a particular region or part of the world can understand those specific idioms. To give you an example,
to miss the wood for the trees
is a typical British expression. But those in the United States (across the ‘Big Pond’) say
to miss the forest for the trees.
Incidentally, the ‘Big Pond’ is the Atlantic Ocean!
But, don’t fret. We have a lot of idioms that everybody can understand – provided they understand English! Let’s look at some of them that can help you stand out in a crowd.
First, we’ll look at 9 idioms, their meanings, and how they are used independently. Then, we’ll use all nine of them to form a sensible paragraph.
1. UNDER THE WEATHER
You feel under the weather when you feel unwell. So, next time you feel ill, just say, you can’t make it to work because you feel under the weather.
You can also say, ‘Hey, you look under the weather! All well?
Let’s see how to use it:
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- The Pakistan economy looks severely under the weather.
- The Indian cricket team went under the weather with the semi-final match against the English team.
- After the company lost the bid for a large project, it went under the weather for over six months.
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2. CHUCKING IT DOWN
To rain heavily
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- These days it’s chucking it down. The Delhi roads are flooded.
- This year’s monsoon’s really heavy. It’s chucking it down. Most of Mumbai is flooded.
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3. COST AN ARM AND A LEG
To be very expensive
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- At 25 lakh rupees, the car cost me an arm and a leg.
- A house in upmarket South Delhi can cost you an arm and a leg.
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4. A PIECE OF CAKE
Something that is extremely easy
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- I finished the math paper in 30 minutes. It was a piece of cake.
- India won the match against Pakistan by 89 runs. It was a piece of cake for India.
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You can also say it was a cake walk, or even a duck soup. Or even easy-peasy.
5. HAIR OF THE DOG
Short for HAIR OF THE DOG THAT BIT ME
A cure for a hangover caused by alcohol. Also, the thing that you take recourse to, in order to lessen an unpleasant effect or outcome.
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- Having a cup of tea after you drink overnight is the hair of the dog that bit you.
- When the popular party lost the election, the people were very despondent. But they had to go back to work. It was a political hair of the dog.
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6. CUT SOMEBODY SOME SLACK
Don’t be too critical
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- Okay, we know he messed up the project. But cut him some slack. He’s been unwell for over a week.
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7. WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND SOMETHING
Understand something complicated
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- I can’t wrap my head around the problem. It seems too complicated.
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8. PERFECT STORM
A combination of events leading to a disaster
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- With the monsoons at hand, choked drains, and stagnant water, Delhi now has the perfect storm for malaria and dengue.
- Too much alcohol, a powerful father, a lot of quick money, and loose lips was the perfect storm that got him behind bars
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9. PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER
To stay up all night
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- He pulled an all-nighter for his maths exam.
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I’ve used all these idiomatic expressions to to form the following paragraph. Tell me what you make of it.
It was chucking it down and the roads were flooded with water and buses. So, he had to leg it home. The chill soon got to him and he started feeling severely under the weather. His choked nose and dizzy head just wouldn’t let him wrap his head around the presentation he had been working on. His boss was too strict to cut him any slack. It was the perfect storm that could get him the divorce, the last thing he wanted just then. Sleep was not really welcoming him either. So he booted up his computer, hoping that pulling an all-nighter on the presentation could be the hair of the dog that bit him.
Hey there! This post couldn’t be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him.
Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!