Comparative Idioms in English

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DQdyltNVw&feature=player_embedded

The English language has some idiomatic expressions that emphasize a particular quality of a person or thing by comparing it to something else.

For example, imagine you buy a new laptop computer which is extremely thin and light – perfect for traveling, because it doesn’t weigh down your backpack. When describing the laptop, you can emphasize how light it is by saying:

“It’s as light as a feather.”

This is a feather:




Comparing your laptop to the feather, emphasizes the fact that it is extremely light.
Here are 5 more comparative idioms with interesting definitions and origins – and at the end of the lesson, take the quiz to discover 12 more comparative idioms in English.

Idiom #1 – As clear as mud

“Mud” is the combination of dirt / soil + water. Mud is brown, it is not clear or transparent:

Comparing your laptop to the feather, emphasizes the fact that it is extremely light.
Here are 5 more comparative idioms with interesting definitions and origins – and at the end of the lesson, take the quiz to discover 12 more comparative idioms in English.

Comparing your laptop to the feather, emphasizes the fact that it is extremely light.
Here are 5 more comparative idioms with interesting definitions and origins – and at the end of the lesson, take the quiz to discover 12 more comparative idioms in English.




This idiom is used to mean that some communication (speaking or writing) is NOT very clear.
For example, imagine your manager is giving you and your coworkers instructions on how to use some new computer software. However, his instructions are extremely confusing and contradictory, and nobody understands how to use the program. Afterwards, you could comment to your colleagues, “Well, that was as clear as mud.”

Idiom #2 – As happy as a clam

A clam is a type of shellfish that lives in the sand on the beach:



The original expression was “as happy as a clam at high water.” High water is when the ocean level increases, putting the clams on the beach underwater and protecting them from predators (other animals that could eat the clams).
So a person who is “as happy as a clam” is very happy.

Idiom #3 – As fit as a fiddle

“Fiddle” is an old word for an instrument like a violin:

Musical instruments like this need to be kept in excellent condition in order to play well. They frequently need small adjustments to keep their sound good. A professional musician always takes care of his or her instrument so that it stays in great condition, because a well-cared-for instrument will give an excellent performance.
Describing someone as “fit as as a fiddle” means the person is in excellent health and excellent physical condition.

Idiom #4 – As exciting as watching paint dry

When you first apply paint to a wall or another surface, the paint is wet because it is a liquid:



It takes several hours for the paint to dry. If you stayed and watched the paint while it became dry, this would not be very exciting. So describing something as “exciting as watching paint dry” means it is extremely boring, NOT exciting.

Idiom #5 – As nutty as a fruitcake

This idiom uses two definitions of the English word “nuts.”
“Nuts” are a type of food:




And a fruitcake is a type of cake that contains a lot of nuts.
The word “nuts” also has another meaning – describing a person as “nuts” or “nutty” means that the person is crazy. So if you say a person is “nutty as a fruitcake,” it means they are really crazy.

Comparative Idioms in English Quiz

Now that you’ve seen a few examples of comparative idioms in English, can you guess how to complete each of these 12 idioms?

Comparative Idioms Quiz

Question 1

Something that is very dry = "As dry as a ________."

A	bone
B	desert
C	rock

Question 2

Something that is very flat = "As flat as a __________."

A	blanket
B	pancake
C	paper

Question 3

Someone who is very angry = "As mad as a ________."

A	bear
B	hornet
C	tiger

Question 4

Something that is very old = "As old as the _________."

A	forests
B	hills
C	stars

Question 5

When something happens very fast, it is "as quick as _________."

A	a cheetah
B	lightning
C	a race car

Question 6

Someone who is very sick = "As sick as a ________."

A	dog
B	fish
C	worm

Question 7

Someone who is very strong = "As strong as ________."

A	an ox
B	iron
C	superman

Question 8

Two things that are very different are "as different as _________."

A	apples and bananas
B	up and down
C	night and day

Question 9

Someone who is very stubborn = "As stubborn as a ________."

A	child
B	lion
C	mule

Question 10

Someone who is very proud = "As proud as a __________."

A	champion
B	peacock
C	pony

Question 11

When someone's face turns very white because they are afraid, they are "as white as a _________."

A	cloud
B	sheet
C	snow

Question 11 Explanation:

an alternative phrase is "white as a ghost"

Question 12

Something that is very solid = "As solid as a __________."

A	house
B	rock
C	tree

 

How to Start a Conversation in English

Do you have difficulty speaking English? Sometimes the hardest part is simply starting a conversation. Learn these expressions for starting a conversation in English in any situation – formal or informal, at work, school, or other contexts! And stay tuned for the next lesson, which will be on how to continue the conversation.

Starting a conversation with a friend:

With friends, you can use informal English expressions like these:

• What’s up?
• How’s it going?

The correct answer to “What’s up?” is “Not much.” You can then add a detail about what’s happening in your life at the moment. If someone says “How’s it going?” you can answer “Good” or “Not so good” and then say why.

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Starting a conversation with a colleague:

In the office, you use slightly more formal English, such as these common expressions:

• Hi, John. How are you doing?
• How’s your day going?
• We’re sure having a busy/slow day today.
• Have you heard the news about ________?
• (on Friday): Have you got any plans for the weekend?
• (on Monday): How was your weekend?

You can talk about projects you’re working on, or about hobbies you have outside work. Current national and international news is also a good topic of conversation.

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Starting a conversation with a friend who you haven’t seen in a long time:

Here are some common expressions to start a conversation with someone you see after a long separation:

• Hi Paula! How have you been?
• Long time no see!
• So, what have you been up to lately?
• How’s your family?
• Are you still working at ABC Company?

In this case, you ca ask about news in your friend’s work, study, family, and hobbies. The friend will probably ask you about recent developments in your own life, too.

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Starting a conversation at a party or wedding:

• I don’t think we’ve met – I’m Shayna.
• Are you from New York?
• So, how do you know Mary?
• Have you tried the chocolate cake? It’s delicious!

If you’re at a party or wedding, you can start a conversation by asking how the person knows the host of the party (or the people getting married). You can also comment about the food and drinks, or about the music.

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Starting a conversation at a conference or work event:

• I don’t think we’ve met – I’m Shayna.
• So, where are you from?
• What did you think of the speaker?
• That was an excellent workshop – I learned a lot. How about you?

The expression “I don’t think we’ve met” can be used in professional situations too. You can ask about the person’s job, what company they are from, and their opinions about the conference events.

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Starting a conversation with someone you have just been introduced to:

• Nice to meet you!
• How do you two know each other?
• So, what do you do for a living? (= what is your job?)
• What are you studying?
• How long have you been (a journalist / doing yoga / interested in music)?
• How did you get into it?

Imagine you have a friend, Nora, who introduces you to her friend Ryan. You can ask about how they know each other, and about Ryan’s job. If Nora says Ryan is a student, you can ask about his area of study and what year of college he’s in. If Nora introduces Ryan as a journalist, or a friend from yoga class, or a musician, you can ask about how long he has done that activity, or how he first got interested in it. His answer will then provide material to continue the conversation.

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Starting a conversation with someone you meet outside:

• Its a beautiful day, isn’t it?
• It looks like it’s going to rain/snow.
• Can you believe all this rain/snow we’ve been having?
• Sure is a hot/cold one today!
• Your dog is so cute! What’s his name?

If you’re in a park, on the street, etc., the most common way to start a conversation is by talking about the weather.

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Starting a conversation with a stranger in other situations:

The secret to starting a conversation with someone you don’t know is to make a comment about the current social context. Here are a few examples of how to do this:

• At an art gallery: “That’s an interesting painting. What do you think of it?”
• At a bar: “This is a great song – I love Latin music. How about you?”
• At a sports game: “Wow, that was a great play! So, who’s your favorite player?”
• At a cafe:  ”Boy, do I need a coffee!”
• At a concert or event: “What a great turnout! Have you ever been here before?”
• At a playground: “My kids are sure full of energy today!

As in the example of the cafe and playground, you don’t need to ask a direct question. You can simply make a comment to the other person, and this is like an invitation for the other person to comment, too. This can then begin a conversation.

British English vs. American English: Vocabulary

This is a story about the daily life of New York Nate, who lives in the United States; and London Laura, who lives in England. As you can see, they have very similar lives… but the vocabulary words they use are very different!

New York Nate lives in an apartment, and London Laura lives in a flat.

Every morning, when getting dressed, New York Nate puts on a pair of pants – whereas London Laura puts on a pair of trousers. Both New York Nate and London Laura have babies, but New York Nate needs to change the baby’s diaper, and London Laura needs to change the baby’s nappy.

When it’s time to go to work, New York Nate takes the subway and London Laura takes theunderground (which is also called the tube).

After getting off at the right stop, New York Nate walks along the sidewalk and London Laura walks along the pavement to reach their offices.

New York Nate works on the first floor of the building, and London Laura works on theground floor. This means neither of them needs to take the elevator (for New York Nate) or the lift (for London Laura).

At work, both Nate and Laura need to send some important documents to a client – but New York Nate sends them by mail and London Laura sends them by post.

During the day, New York Nate snacks on cookies, french fries, and potato chips. London Laura eats the same things, but she calls them biscuits, chips, and crisps.

This isn’t a very healthy diet, is it? Both Nate and Laura get stomachaches, so on the way home from work New York Nate stops at the drugstore or pharmacy and London Laura stops at the chemist’s shop to pick up some medicine.

After work, Nate and Laura go shopping. They drive to the mall, and New York Nate puts his car in the parking lot, whereas London Laura puts hers in the car park.

Both of them buy a lot of stuff, so New York Nate puts his purchases in the trunk, and London Laura puts hers in the boot.

On the way home, New York Nate stops to fill up the car with gas – and London Laura fills up her car with petrol. At the station, New York Nate sees a truck, and London Laura sees a lorry.

They both get home late, and New York Nate needs to take out the garbage or trash; London Laura also needs to take out the rubbish. It’s dark outside, so New York Nate takes aflashlight, and London Laura takes a torch.

It’s been a long day, and New York Nate thinks he’s going to go crazy; London Laura thinks she might go mad.

It must be time for a vacation for New York Nate… and a holiday for London Laura!

10 Slang Words: Love & Relationships

Learn American English slang words about relationships

Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Learn 10 American English slang words and expressions about relationships! Read the slang words and example sentences, listen to the pronunciation and repeat the words and sentences out loud to improve your English speaking.

To “hit on” someone means to flirt with, to say or do things that demonstrate romantic interest.

“I wish Peter would stop hitting on me. I’m just not interested in him.”

To “make out” with someone is to kiss passionately.

“When I was a teenager, I’d make out with my boyfriend in the back of his car so that my father wouldn’t see us!”

 If you “hook up” with someone, it means you have casual sex. “Hook up” is usually something you do after going to the bar or a party. In general, it is one night of sex, not in a committed relationship.

“She got drunk and hooked up with some guy she met at the bar.”

 A man who is a “player” is a man who has relationships with many women or someone who “plays” with women’s emotions. “Player” is generally a negative word.

“I don’t think Rob’s good boyfriend material. He seems like a player.”

 If a woman gets “knocked up,” it means she got pregnant – often unintentionally (without wanting or planning to). 

“Amanda got knocked up by a famous actor, but he claims he’s not the father of the baby.”

 Be careful – “Knocked up” is not a very nice expression. Don’t say it about yourself, and never say it directly to a pregnant woman.

If a woman “wears the pants” in a relationship, it means she has more control of the relationship than her boyfriend or husband.

“Peter’s wife is the one who wears the pants in the family – she makes all the important decisions.”

 An “old flame” is a person with whom you had a romantic relationship in the past.

“Many affairs start when the husband or wife receives a message from an old flame on Facebook.”

 If one person “dumps” their boyfriend or girlfriend, it means they end the relationship.

“Susan dumped her boyfriend after she caught him kissing another girl.”

“Dump” is a rather strong word, usually meaning that the relationship ended badly. If you want to describe the end of a relationship with a more neutral phrase, you can say “She broke up with her boyfriend.”

To “patch things up” is to resolve problems or conflicts in a relationship.

“My aunt and uncle were having some problems in their marriage last year, but they’ve patched things up.”

Quiz: American English Slang Words - Relationships

http://www.espressoenglish.net/slang-words-relationships/

Common Mistakes

Estou estudando todos os dias para melhorar meu inglês."

Não diga: “I’m studying every day for improve my English.”

Diga: “I’m studying every day to improve my English.”

As palavras TO e FOR são frequentemente confundidas. Aqui estão algumas regras:

Use TO para:

1. Destino
   (We’re going to Paris. = Nós vamos para Paris.)
2. Horas
   (It’s a quarter to 2. = São quinze para as duas.)
3. Até
   (We’ll be in the office from 5 to 6. = Estaremos no escritório das 5 às 6.)
4. Comparação
   (I prefer sleeping to working. = Prefiro dormir a trabalhar)
5. Destinário 
   (I gave the present to her. = Dei o presente a ela.)
6. Motivo – seguido por verbo 
   (I came here to see you. = Vim aqui para ver você.)

Use FOR para:

1. Destina-se a pertencer a alguém 
   (This is for you. = Este é para você.)
2. Período de tempo 
   (We’ve lived here for 2 years. = Moramos aqui há 2 anos.)
3. Agendamento 
   (I made an appointment for May 3. = Marquei um encontro para 3 de maio.)
4. A favor 
   (Are you for or against nuclear arms? = Você é a favor ou contra armas nucleares?)
5. Em nome de – para ajudar alguém 
   (Could you carry these books for me? = Você pode carregar estes livros para mim?)
6. Motivo – seguido por substantivo 
   (Let’s go out for a drink. = Vamos sair para um drinque.)

Como você pode ver da regra #6, TO ou FOR podem ser utilizados no caso de um motivo, mas TO é sempre seguido por um verbo, e FOR por um substantivo. Mais um exemplo pode ajudar:

• I came to New York to work. (Vim para Nova Iorque para trabalhar.)
• I came to New York for a new job. (Vim para Nova Iorque para um novo trabalho.)

10 English Idioms with Color

Are you ready to learn some colorful English idioms?

Enjoy this lesson with 10 idiomatic expressions based on color!

red tape

“Red tape” refers to complicated, inefficient bureaucracy that stops things from getting done. For example, if you’re trying to open a company, but all the rules and documents make the process very difficult, you could say:

“It took me 10 months to open my company because of all the red tape.”

You can remember this idiom because red is a color that often means “stop,” and tape is an item that holds things in one place.

red-carpet treatment

When a celebrity or someone very important arrives, it’s common to use a special red carpet for that person to walk on:

So giving people extra-special treatment is called giving the red-carpet treatment or rolling out the red carpet. 

green thumb

The color green is often associated with plants and nature. If a person has a green thumb, it means they have a great ability to make plants grow:

My aunt has quite the green thumb – she grows all her own vegetables in her garden.

give the green light

When a traffic light turns green, it means “go”:

So if you are working on a project and your boss gives you the green light, it means he gives his permission or approval for the project to proceed.

out of the blue

If something happens out of the blue, it means it happens completely unexpectedly. For example, imagine you have an old friend who hasn’t contacted you in a very long time – and then one day, you get a letter from her. You might say:

I hadn’t heard from Jennifer in years – and then she contacted me out of the blue.

until you are blue in the face

This idiom means for a very long time. It comes from the fact that if you hold your breath for an extremely long time, the lack of oxygen makes the skin on your face turn blue. Let’s say you’re arguing politics with your brother, and you strongly oppose his views. You could say:

You can argue until you’re blue in the face, but I’m still not going to agree with you.

brown-bagging

This expression means to make your own lunch at home and bring it to work (or to another place) – instead of buying food at a restaurant. The idiom comes from the brown paper bags that are often used to pack lunches:

Here’s an example sentence:

Brown bagging your lunch can save you thousands of dollars per year.

white knuckle

The joints between your fingers and the palm of your hand are called knuckles (the first “k” is silent!):

If you hold onto something extremely tightly, your knuckles turn white. So if you “white knuckle” something, it means you survive an extremely stressful experience.

For example, if you took a taxi through a dangerous area, and the driver was going very fast and out of control, you would be nervous that the car might crash. Afterwards, you could say:

That sure was a white knuckle ride!

grey area

The color grey is a mix between black and white – it is a color that is in the middle of these two extremes. If something is described as a grey area, it means that it is ambiguous or not well defined. Sometimes people describe complex moral or ethical issues as “grey areas” if there are no clear or obvious answers.

pot calling the kettle black

If there’s a situation in which Person A is accusing or attacking Person B for something that also applies to person A, we say that’s the pot calling the kettle black. 

For example, let’s say there’s a man named John who is always late for work. One day, John’s colleague David arrives late, and John yells at him for being late. That is “the pot calling the kettle black,” because John is guilty of the same thing!

A pot is a metal instrument used to cook food, and a kettle is used to heat up water for tea. In the past, both of these items were usually black:

Image source

That’s why “the pot calling the kettle black” is used to describe one person criticizing another person for a characteristic that they both share.