Idioms, expressions that add interest to our language! We come across idioms in conversation and in written language. People use idioms in movies, television, music, and social media all the time. Understanding idioms helps us to comprehend language and participate in social conversation.
What are idioms?
Idioms are figurative phrases or expressions that are not to be taken literally. They are phrases that have meanings that you wouldn’t be able to easily guess by the meanings of the individual words. An idiom is normal to fluent speakers of a language but sounds really strange to others. Idioms add creativity and flair to language. An example of an idiom is “kill two birds with one stone”. This sounds terribly cruel when taken literally. However, the actual meaning of the idiom is to accomplish two tasks at once. There are many idioms in the English language.
Types of Idioms
According to Grammarly.com, there are 4 types of idioms:
- Pure idiom: a typical idiom – an expression that has a meaning that can’t be deduced by its individual words. “Spill the beans” literally sounds like making a mess with beans, while its actual figurative meaning is to share a secret.
- Binomial idiom: a phrase that contains two words joined by a conjunction or preposition. Examples of this include: “by and large”, and “heart to heart”
- Partial idiom: an expression that has been shortened because native speakers typically know the longer version and can fill in the rest of the expression themselves. An example of this would be “when in Rome” because native speakers would know that the rest of the expression is “do as the Romans do”. The expression actually has nothing to do with being Roman. Instead, it means that when you visit a place, you should follow the customs and rules of the people in that place.
- Prepositional idiom: an expression that combines a verb and a preposition to create a verb with a particular meaning. An example of this would be to “agree on” which means to share an opinion.
Meanings of idioms:
- Break a leg – to wish someone good luck
- Feeling under the weather – not feeling well
- Once in a blue moon – something happens rarely
- Raining cats and dogs – raining heavily
- Kick the bucket – to die
- Costs an arm and a leg – very expensive
- Heart of gold – good-hearted, kind and generous
- A dime a dozen – very common
- Elbow grease – requiring extra physical effort
- Keep your chin up – stay positive even when things are difficult
- Pitch in – help out, contribute
- It was a piece of cake – it was really easy
- Cool as a cucumber – calm and relaxed
- Couch potato – refers to a person who spends a lot of time sitting around doing nothing
- Sweet tooth – suggests that someone likes to eat cakes, cookies, and other sweet foods
- Down to earth – refers to someone who is modest and practical
- Between a rock and a hard place – being forced to decide between two difficult options
- Tie the knot – to get married
- Hit the sack – to go to bed
Idioms Expressions that add interest: Here are some other fun activities for teaching and practicing idioms:
In this fun set of idioms for the whole year, you get idioms related to holidays and themes for each month of the year. This is a nice way to address a large number of idioms and figurative language expressions throughout the school year and summer.
Looking for some free idioms to practice? This fun set of free idioms and expressions related to Valentine’s Day is adorable.
Here are more Valentine’s Day activities: Valentine’s Activities for Kids
This fun set of free St. Patrick’s Day Idioms is great too 🙂
Here is a set of free Back to School-themed idioms.
And more Back-to-School speech therapy ideas.
