ESL Blogs

Can you surprise me? Idioms

Posted by Mr. Bob on May 20, 2014

I guess I am going to let the cat out of the bag, for some of you night owls who spend most of your English Club time chatting and reading your friend's blogs. But, English Club has much, much more than My English Club (our social media side).

If you have paid attention in the past, you may have noticed some of the helpful resources.

Today I am reminding you about our sections on idioms.

I am just scratching the surface of the offerings that are available. The idioms at this link are about animals and some are in bold in my paragraph above. http://www.englishclub.com/ref/Idioms/Animals/index.htm

?What happens to you if you play it by ear and then end up facing the music

http://www.englishclub.com/ref/Idioms/Music/index.htm

If you haven't checked these idioms and the rest of the English Club site you are missing the boat.

http://www.englishclub.com/ref/Idioms/

idioms

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Comments

Mr. Bob June 3, 2014 14:23

Thank you Tara, Saied, Areality and M. Hakim. I just know how many great things we have at EnglishClub that most members could use. I want to remind everyone that there are some very useful things available. I wrote this blog in 2010 or 2011 but saved it in drafts and forgot it. I don't remember why I called it the name it has. I think I wanted everyone to reply using some idioms. :)
M. Hakim June 3, 2014 9:46

Interesting. Idioms make sense clear and attractive. I like to use idioms in making sentence. some of idioms are fully new to me. All the best.
Tara Benwell May 28, 2014 18:44

Very creative, Mr. Bob! Thanks for introducing this reference section to some of our MyEC friends!
Mahgol May 23, 2014 16:03

" Language is the means of getting an Idea from My Brain to Yours without Surgery. "

Mr. Bob,

Thanks for this nice notification.
Mr. Bob May 23, 2014 7:35

Over time idioms become a part of the language Nora. So, yes you can use most idioms in formal writing. I think you would just want to be careful that the idiom was used correctly and didn't have any impolite language in it. There are some that use words that are not polite.
Mr. Bob May 22, 2014 5:28

Nora, I can understand you giving up. The problem is trying to use idioms correctly. I think it is more important for you to realize when you see one. If you read about the whole ball of wax, everything but the kitchen sink, or beating a dead horse, you just need to know not to take the statement literally.

That is when it may help to look at a list of idioms or search for the confusing term on the internet. There you can find what the idiom meant.

Beating a dead horse means that no matter how much you "beat on the problem" you can't change it, the horse is dead and won't move. So we might say that when someone will not give up on something that is useless.

We sold him "the whole ball of wax" means everything was included. He bought the car, insurance and all the extra things that could be added.

If he packed "everything but the kitchen sink", he filled his baggage with lots of unnecessary items for his vacation. So, idioms sometimes make enough sense that you can guess the meaning. Otherwise check the English Club link in the blog or try Google.
mitran May 21, 2014 9:17

hihihi..Teacher, means...I'm not a member of English club (because I still not read it) lol...No way, I'm a STAR here...hahaha...

I will make you surprise (but not now, one day later....). Sure 10000%
Expector Smith May 20, 2014 23:30

You might also like to read this blog: Let's use some idioms in your writing.
noaslpls May 20, 2014 10:32

I like to learn about idioms and their origins. They are really making fascinating read. I've even wrote about some of them in my Did You Know Series. However, lately, I've neglected learning about them. Thank you for reminding me about the wonderful world of idioms.
Mr. Bob May 20, 2014 5:57

I'm just cleaning out my drafts of blogs that I started and never posted. This one is still worth knowing about so I have posted it.