The 12 adults in the Intermediate Level English class at the Newcomer Center in Minneapolis had just taken their seats when the instructor, Raj Parambola, wrote a single word on the whiteboard: IDIOM. “Today we are going to talk about idioms,” said Raj, an immigrant who was teaching the class for the first time. “As you may already know, idioms are phrases or expressions that have figurative meanings. For example, if you are going to perform in a play and someone says ‘Break a leg,’ they do not mean that you should actually break your leg. What do they mean?”
My wife is German, and like most Europeans she speaks multiple languages fluently.
Her use of English is excellent. But what I find fascinating (and adorable) is how directly she translates and interprets idioms and metaphors. Just the other day, she asked me if 'letting the cat out of the bag' meant we were adopting a pet in secret - you know what? I wish it did mean that.
I once at work looked down at a paper in frustration and said “ Fuck me running “
My Congolese customer asked me what that meant. I told them that I did not know, and then we both began hysterically laughing. He then said “ nobody is going to fuck me if I’m running “
I'm not convinced that this one counts as an idiom, but my dad used to yell, "Get the water hot!" at baseball games, when the pitcher was getting shelled, and needed to be taken out of the game - the implication being that the pitcher was headed to the showers, where, presumably the water should be warm. Come to think of it, that's no idiom, that's simply a folksy saying.
My wife is German, and like most Europeans she speaks multiple languages fluently.
Her use of English is excellent. But what I find fascinating (and adorable) is how directly she translates and interprets idioms and metaphors. Just the other day, she asked me if 'letting the cat out of the bag' meant we were adopting a pet in secret - you know what? I wish it did mean that.
I once at work looked down at a paper in frustration and said “ Fuck me running “
My Congolese customer asked me what that meant. I told them that I did not know, and then we both began hysterically laughing. He then said “ nobody is going to fuck me if I’m running “
I'm not convinced that this one counts as an idiom, but my dad used to yell, "Get the water hot!" at baseball games, when the pitcher was getting shelled, and needed to be taken out of the game - the implication being that the pitcher was headed to the showers, where, presumably the water should be warm. Come to think of it, that's no idiom, that's simply a folksy saying.