Idioms & Adages in English

Putting Words in Your Mouth: Idioms Using Verbs

Idioms are expressions or constructions whose meanings do not logically follow the meaning of the individual words that make them up. They can also be phrases that seem to violate a grammatical precept. Confused? Here are a few examples to illustrate:

Couch potato

If I had my druthers

On the dot

Rub someone the wrong way

Now that you’ve been reminded of some idioms, you can see how the literal translations of the above phrases do not match what the phrases have come to represent over time. Similarly, clichés, which may or may not be idioms, refer to words or phrases drained of meaning through overuse. While sayings such as “to kill two birds with one stone” are considered clichés in classroom English, some idioms using verbs are useful for both readers and writers:

• To pay the piper: to bear the cost or consequences (from the proverb “He who dances must pay the piper”; a variation is to pay the fiddler)
• To play devil’s advocate : to take a contrary position for the sake of arguing (from the Roman Catholic official who looks critically at candidates for beatification or canonization)
• To cast pearls before swine : to waste something valuable on an unworthy recipient (from Jesus’ warning to his disciples not to preach before unreceptive audiences)
• To look a gift horse in the mouth : to appear ungrateful for a gift by questioning its value (from the fact that a horse’s age can be determined by checking its teeth)
• Hoist by your own petard : hurt by one’s own plot or trap (a phrase used by Shakespeare’s Hamlet; a petard was an explosive device for blowing up doors and walls)

What some people consider an effective idiom, others may consider a cliché. Either way, idioms and clichés, when used judiciously, add color and interest to writing of all kinds.

Speaking in Tongues: Foreign Phrases in English

Of equal importance to the idioms, clichés, and adages above are the many foreign phrases commonly used in the English language. This section offers a smorgasbord of phrases for your delectation.

Know Thy Classics: Greek and Latin Phrases

Most often, Greek and Latin phrases occur in specific contexts, such as law and science. Here’s a list of some useful phrases:

• Hoi polloi: the common people (from Greek “the many,” often used in disparagement)
• Flagrante delicto: in the act (from Latin “while the crime is blazing”)
• Memento mori: a reminder of one’s mortality (from Latin “be mindful of dying”)
• Nolens volens: willingly or not (from Latin “unwillingly willingly”)
• Per se: of, in, or by itself; intrinsically (from Latin “through itself”)
• Quid pro quo: something for something (from Latin “what for what”)
• Sui generis: unique (from Latin “of its own kind”)

This list cannot go on ad infinitum!

Romantic English—French, Spanish, and Italian Phrases

When looking for le mot juste(exactly the right word or phrasing), English speakers and writers often turn to the Romance languages. The extended presence of the French in England during the Middle Ages, not to mention the history of wars between the two countries, has led to a large number of French phrases being incorporated into the English language. Here’s a soupçon of phrases from each of these languages:

• Alfresco: in the open air (from Italian, “in the fresh”)
• Aficionado: an ardent admirer (from Spanish, aficionar, “to induce liking for”)
• Cause célèbre: an issue or person arousing widespread interest (from French, “celebrated case”)
• Laissez-faire: a policy of noninterference (from French, “let do”)
• Mano a mano: one on one, face to face (from Spanish, “hand to hand”)
• Nota bene: take note (from Italian, “note well”)
• Roman à clef: a novel where real people and events are disguised as fiction (from French, “a novel with a key”)

English Fest—German Phrases

Many German words are cognate to English words and have almost the same meaning.

German words and phrases that appear in English texts tend to refer to literary and philosophical ideas. Here’s a
short list:

• Doppelgänger: a look-alike, double, or alter ego (literally “double goer”)
• Flak: heavy criticism or opposition (from the bursting shells fired by FLiegerAbwehrKanone, an antiaircraft gun)
• Schadenfreude: joy over someone’s misfortunes (literally “damage joy”)
• Wunderkind: a child prodigy (literally “miracle child”)

Name-Dropping—Literary Allusions

Previously, we examined the important linguistic influence of Greek and Latin on the English language. The following lesson will emphasize how Greek and Roman mythology has affected English language and literature. We’ll also discuss the Bible and how it continues to serve as a valuable source of both English vocabulary and fodder for critical literary works.

English as Trojan Horse

19th Century etching of the Trojan Horse

English contains a surprising number of vocabulary words whose origin can be traced back to classical mythology and history. Here’s a tantalizing list:

• Colossal: hugely, incredibly enormous (from the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)
• Hector: to bully or swagger (what Hector did to Achilles in the Iliad)
• Hermaphrodite: having both male and female sexes (from Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, whose body united with the nymph Salmacis)
• Mercurial: volatile and unpredictable in temperament (from Mercury, god of travel and thievery)
• Sisyphean: endlessly toilsome and futile (from Sisyphus, doomed to keep rolling a rock up a mountain in Hades only to have it fall when he nears the top)

Words that Lead to Rome

English literary allusions owe an equal debt to Latin and Roman culture. Follow this rubric to learn more:

• Janus-faced: hypocritical (from Janus, the two-faced god; January is named for him)
• Jovial: cheerful (from Jove, a name for Jupiter, seen as a source of happiness)
• Martial: warlike (from Mars, the god of war)
• Pyrrhic: where the cost or loss outweighs the benefit (from Pyrrhus, who won a battle but lost most of his soldiers)
• Stoic: indifferent to pleasure or pain (from the Stoics, a school of philosophy)

The Testament of English

The Bible has exerted an equal presence in the English language. It would be prodigal not to learn as many Biblical allusions as you can. Here is a brief list:

• Babel: confusion of sounds (from the Tower of Babel)
• Golgotha: a place of great suffering (from Golgotha or Calvary)
• Gospel: an idea that’s unquestionably true (from Gospel, a contraction of Anglo-Saxon words for “good” and “news”)
• Nimrod: a hunter (from Nimrod, great-grandson of Noah)
• Philistine: an ignorant and materialistic person (from Philistines, enemies of the Jews)

The Rest of the Story

The English language also draws liberally from other important pieces of literature. Here is a brief list:

• Faustian: seeking pleasure with no concern for future costs (from Faust, who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power)
• Gargantuan: incredibly huge (from Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel)
• Lilliputian: small or petty (from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels)

Back to Top