All About Idioms!


The Leave it to Beamer book series focuses on the wide world of ENGLISH IDIOMS.
 But what exactly IS an idiom?

Idioms are words, phrases or expressions that appear in the English language and can be very confusing because their meanings typically have nothing to do with the meanings of each of the words within the idiom.

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of an idiom is as follows:

idiom
[id-ee-uh-m]

noun
1.  an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics.

2.  a language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people.

For example, “don’t let the cat out of the bag” means you should not reveal a secret.  It has nothing to do with a cat or a bag!
So essentially, idioms are kind of like another way of saying something else!  Or as I like to think of them, another MORE FUN AND EXCITING way of saying something else!  And I'll give an example.  If it was raining outside, you could say "Wow!  It's raining really hard!"  OR, you could use an IDIOM and say "Wow!  It's raining cats and dogs outside!"  Now doesn't that sound more fun and exciting?  YES!  I think so too!  And when we're writing stories, we want them to sound fun and exciting so that our readers will want to continue reading them.  Right?

Examples of English Idioms

  • Don't Let the Cat Out of the Bag
  • The Elephant in the Room
  • The Sky is the Limit
  • The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
  • Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse
  • A Leopard Can't Change His Spots
  • A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
  • Go Out on a Limb
  • Cat Got Your Tongue
  • Don't Count Your Chickens Before they Hatch
  • The Straw that Broke the Camels Back
  • Barking Up the Wrong Tree
  • Horse of a Different Color
  • Raining Cats and Dogs
  • Fighting Tooth and Nail
  • A Jack of All Trades
  • A Chip on your Shoulder
  • Bark is Worse than its Bite
  • Back Seat Driver
  • Drive Someone Up the Wall
  • Copycat
  • Crack Someone Up
  • Drawing A Blank
  • Don't Put All Your Eggs Into One Basket
  • Get Your Ducks in a Row
  • In the Hot Seat
  • On Pins and Needles
  • On Thin Ice
  • On the Ball
  • Saved by the Bell
  • Cry Wolf
  • A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
  • Under the Weather
  • Hungry as a Bear
  • Strong as an Ox
  • Stubborn as a Mule
  • Quiet as a Mouse
  • Break a Leg
  • Bull in a China Shop
  • A Chip Off the Old Block
These are just a small sample of the hundreds and hundreds of idioms that appear in our language!  And if you would like to know more about these idioms, including their possible origins, check out my Leave it to Beamer book series TODAY!  You'll be "Left in Stitches" and "Fall Head Over Heals" in no time!